My Fair Puppy
by Willowsnake
Summary: It's the day before Spring Break and Joey can't wait for some fun in the sun. But his dreams come crashing down when a school project not only winds up making him stay at the home of his worst enemy, but also his biggest crush...Seto Kaiba! REVISED!
1. Friday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Summary:** It's the day before Spring Break and Joey can't wait for some fun in the sun. But his dreams come crashing down when a school project not only winds up making him stay at the home of his worst enemy, but also his biggest crush...Seto Kaiba!

* * *

**Chapter 1 - Friday**

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

"Boy! Git yer ass up!"

Joey bolted into complete wakefulness at the sound of his father banging on his door, yelling at him in a slurred voice. This was not good.

Scrambling from his bed, he threw on his school clothes, grabbed his school bag, and ran toward the window.

"Git up, ya lil piece o' shit!" his father spat from behind his locked door. If he didn't get out of here soon, he'd really be in for it.

Opening the window, Joey leaned out and reached for the fire escape just outside. Quickly grabbing onto it, he raced down the unsteady steps just as his father broke into his room, splintering the door from its hinge.

As soon as Joey's feet hit the pavement, pain shot up his leg, but he took off running anyway.

It was still dark. He took a quick glance at his watch and groaned. Two in the fucking morning. Where the hell was he supposed to kill the next five hours before he had to go to school?

Joey stopped running when he reached the sidewalk near the middleclass area of Domino. Briskly walking alongside the empty streets, his hands in his pockets and bag thrown over his shoulder, Joey decided the park might be the safest place to 'hang out.'

Taking the familiar path to his sanctuary, it took him no more than ten minutes to reach the place he called home when he was _unwelcome_ at the apartment he shared with his father.

As he searched through the dark, Joey finally found the spot he was looking for: a small wooden bench nestled underneath a large pine tree. It was out of the way, somewhat sheltered, and would serve as an ideal place to sleep until he had to go to school.

Settling himself on the bench, he laid back, his school bag serving as a makeshift pillow. Staring up at the clouded sky through the branches, Joey sighed as he tried to figure out how he was going to survive the next couple weeks.

Last night had been one of the worst nights of his life. His father had come home roaring drunk, beat the living shit out of him, and then had gone out to do some more drinking.

Joey had then been left to nurse his wounds, which consisted of a few bruised ribs, a slightly twisted ankle—he was actually surprised he'd been able to run in his current condition; thank goodness for adrenaline—and a nice knot on the back of his head.

Running, however, probably hadn't been the best idea. His ankle hurt like hell now and he winced every time he took a deep breath. But it was a small price to pay for getting out of his father's vicious hands.

What really sucked, though, was that today was Friday, the day before Spring Break. He'd be off for two weeks—and as it was looking right now—with no place to go. Joey really didn't want to go back to that hellhole he refused to call home, but what choice did he have? He didn't want to intrude on his friends, and besides, they didn't know what went on between him and his father anyway.

Joey brought a hand up to his face when he felt something wet running down his cheek. Was he actually crying? It couldn't be, could it? The wetness felt oddly cold. But when he started feeling drops of water on every other part of his body, he realized that he wasn't crying; it was raining.

"Why da fuck does it gotta rain?" Joey grumbled as he sat up on the park bench. So much for getting some well-needed rest.

Bringing his knees up to his chest, Joey stared out at the rain that seemed to want to make the start of his day grow even worse. Mother Nature appeared to want to torment him, too. Could he never get a break?

As he huddled on the bench in an attempt to stay warm, he closed his eyes, wishing that the day would improve. And if he didn't have to go home for the next two weeks, that would be even better.

* * *

Joey smiled as he closed his locker. Only one more class to go and then he was off from school for two whole weeks! Spring Break was so close he could almost taste it. Where he'd spend those two weeks was still a bit of an issue, though, but he'd deal with that later. He was just thrilled that his day had improved.

He'd gone all day without being late, dealing with Kaiba, getting in trouble, dealing with Kaiba, falling asleep in class, and did he mention dealing with Kaiba? Joey hadn't seen the CEO all day, making him feel a combination of both joy and…sorrow.

What? Could he help it if he actually liked the guy? Not a like as in the friendship kind of like, but the like as in like-like.

Yes. He had a major crush on the sexy billionaire. Even though all they did was fight, Joey couldn't help but feel delighted whenever Seto Kaiba sought _him_ out to pick on him. It made him feel…special.

But not seeing the CEO might have been a good thing. Joey wasn't really in the mood to fight. He was tired, in pain, and was still worried about _where _he was going to spend his Spring Break. Minus the morning's events, he had been having a pretty good day.

Well, that was until he walked into something both hard and soft at the same time. The familiar scent of cinnamon wafted through his nose.

Joey hesitantly looked up, only to see a pale face shrouded by brown hair and evil-looking blue eyes; said eyes were glaring at him.

"Watch it, Mutt," Kaiba snapped as he spun on his heels and headed to class.

"I ain't a dog, Kaiba," Joey retaliated softly, without much fire or spark, but his response fell on deaf ears.

Or so he thought.

Gripping his school bag tightly, he followed Kaiba to their classroom…their Psychology classroom. Why he had to take Psychology of all things, Joey didn't know. Why Kaiba, of all people, was taking Psychology, he _really_ didn't know.

But, alas, that's what happens when budget cuts run rampant throughout the school district; it cuts out all the good stuff and replaces it with subjects the school board feels the students need, not want.

What high school student in their right mind would _willingly _take Psychology? It was stupid! At least it was in Joey's eyes.

All they did was read the damn textbook and answer questions in the back of it! No lecture, no activities, no group work, no projects. Joey hated to say it, but he would have done anything to have something interesting happen in that class.

As he took his seat near the back, Joey started wishing he hadn't made that thought as he read the board: _Social Behavior Project_.

"Great," Joey muttered under his breath. The last thing he needed was a school project to do over his Spring Break. Really, were _all _teachers evil?

"Good afternoon, class," started their teacher, Mr. Sanforth. "Today I'm assigning a project for you to complete over the break. It will be on Social Behavior."

The entire class groaned, including Kaiba, Joey noticed.

"Now, I know you'll all be thrilled by what I have to say. This project you'll be able to do in partners."

Joey's ears perked up at that. The class seemed to buzz with excitement as well. If the project was going to take all Spring Break, maybe he could stay at the home of his partner. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. As long as—

"And I've already picked your partners," finished Mr. Sanforth, stunning the class into silence. Joey could have sworn he heard a cricket or two, but brushed it off as his imagination. Plus, he wasn't pleased that their teacher had taken the liberty of selecting their partners.

"I've even assigned the project to be completed with each pair," their teacher explained happily. Did the whole 'freedom of choice' thing totally go over this guy's head or what? And with that, Mr. Sanforth began calling out the names of their partners.

After half the names were called, Joey found himself growing anxious. He clenched his hands so tightly they were turning white. The only thing going through his mind at that moment was the mantra: _Please not Kaiba. Please not Kaiba. Please not Kaiba._

"Joseph Wheeler will be paired with—"

Joey held his breath.

"—Duke Devlin—"

Joey sighed in relief.

"—Oh, I'm sorry. I skipped down a line."

Joey held his breath again.

"Mr. Wheeler, you'll be paired with Seto Kaiba."

Joey paled. "What?" Bolting from his seat, the chair he'd been sitting in clattered to the floor. "I ain't bein' his partner!"

"Mr. Wheeler, sit down," Mr. Sanforth replied, unfazed.

"I don't think you understand," Kaiba started, rising from his seat and glaring ominously at their teacher. "I will _not _be paired with such an imbecile."

"Hey! Who ya callin' an imbecile, ya stupid bastard?" Joey roared, turning on the CEO. Perhaps yelling wasn't such a good idea. His chest was starting to hurt again.

"That is enough!" Mr. Sanforth snapped. "You _will _be partners, you _will _do this project, or you _will _fail this class. Is that understood?"

Both teenagers sat down. But Joey had to sit down again. This time _with _the chair. He'd forgotten he'd knocked it over.

Mr. Sanforth finished reading off the names and told them to sit with their partners. He then passed out a large manila envelope that supposedly held the requirements for their project.

Joey was about to open it when Kaiba snatched it out of his hands.

"I was gonna open it," Joey said softly, glaring weakly at the CEO. Why did he feel so drained?

"Unlikely. Paws don't have opposable thumbs, remember?" Kaiba replied with a smirk.

Joey huffed and crossed his arms. He couldn't think of a comeback. Like he ever could.

Why did that hot, sexy bastard always have to have the last word? Of all people, why did he have to like _him_? Joey didn't know how it had happened. It just had! It was like one of those unsolved mysteries or something.

"What…the…hell?"

Kaiba's stern voice drew him from his thoughts. Of course, when Joey looked at him, he wanted to run for cover. Kaiba looked like he was about to explode or something.

This time, Kaiba bolted from his seat. "What the hell do you mean we have to live together over the break?" he yelled at Mr. Sanforth, who, again, appeared unfazed.

"It's the only way you'll be able to effectively complete your assignment. The two of you must live together for the entire break, although, _where _you stay does not matter to me. Everyone will present their projects as soon as school resumes."

As Kaiba and Mr. Sanforth had their verbal battle about the requirements for the assignment, Joey couldn't help but panic.

They couldn't live at _his_ place! His father would kill him! And, now that he really thought about it, if he was gone for two whole weeks and then came back to the apartment, his father would _really_ kill him!

Joey hugged himself subconsciously. He was screwed either way. If he thought the beatings he received at home were bad now, he didn't know what to call them when he went back after being gone for two weeks. He was as good as dead.

"Mutt?" Was that concern in Kaiba's voice or was he imagining things again?

"Huh?"

Kaiba seemed to contemplate his next words. "You look like you have a fever," he said, placing a hand on Joey's forehead.

The blond recoiled from the sudden touch. "Don't," he stated firmly.

Sighing in irritation, Kaiba drew back his hand. "If you're going to be living at my mansion for the next two weeks, I would suggest you not come sick."

Joey just grew more concerned. When was the decision made that he was living with Kaiba? Had he been lost in his thoughts for that long?

"I'm…livin' wit' ya?" Joey asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes, Mutt! Haven't you been listening at all?"

Joey's head started pounding. Maybe he _was_ getting sick. Rubbing his temples, Joey whispered, "Please don't yell." His head hurt so much that he felt like he was going to cry.

Kaiba was shocked by the blond's quiet response, but he didn't let it show. What the hell was wrong with the Mutt now? He was unsure about what to do next, and that made him uncomfortable. He always knew what to do…but now, he didn't.

"Do you want me to explain the project to you?" inquired Kaiba evenly.

Joey looked up at him with surprised eyes. Was Kaiba actually trying to be civil? "Um…o-okay."

"Our Social Behavior Project is on the relation between social influences, personality, and language. Basically, one of us has to study the other—which will be you—take notes, and write a paper on it. Then an experiment is conducted on that person—you again—meaning you get to be my guinea pig. I'll need to change the way you talk, the way you handle yourself, and be able to pass you off as someone of my elite status. When we get back from the break, I will be presenting you as the completed portion of this project. Just think, you might not be a mutt anymore, but a pedigree," Kaiba said with a smirk.

Joey just gaped at him like a fish. What was he? Some kind of kept pet or something?

"Why do _ya _get to be da one doin' experiments?"

"Have you ever read _Pygmalion_?"

Joey shook his head, not knowing where Kaiba was going with this.

"Have you ever seen _My Fair Lady_?"

Joey shook his head again.

"Both are one and the same. A man comes along and takes a poor woman selling flowers off the street. He cleans her up, teaches her how to speak and act as a proper lady, and virtually passes her off as some sort of princess. Our project is basically the same." Kaiba turned to smirk devilishly at him. Joey didn't like that look. "Well?"

Joey just dropped his head and nodded in defeat. There was no point in arguing now because Kaiba had already made up his mind. And he _really _didn't feel like fighting. He was too exhausted.

"What the hell is wrong with you today?" Kaiba asked, his voice deathly low.

Joey's brows knitted in confusion. "I dunno what ya mean."

"Why won't you fight with me? Why are you suddenly acting so…submissive?"

"I'm not…I'm just tired, okay?" _Now, leave me alone,_ Joey thought to himself.

Kaiba did _not_ want to let this go. Something was wrong with his Mutt. He'd figure it out sooner or later. Sooner rather than later.

He was about to comment on this when the shrill cry of the bell suddenly cut him off. Glaring at the bell evilly, he stood up from his seat and stared down at Joey.

"Are you coming or not?" he snapped as he briskly walked out of the classroom.

Joey grabbed his school bag and sped after him. "Where are we goin'?"

"My limo."

When they reached the front of the school, a shiny black limousine was already there.

"Get in," Kaiba quipped.

Joey hesitated. "Where are we goin'?" he repeated.

"My mansion. Now get in!" Kaiba was beginning to lose his patience.

"But…my stuff…is at…home." Joey flinched a little as he reluctantly called that dingy apartment he shared with his father 'home.'

"You won't need anything. Now get in before I make you."

Joey sighed and slid into the limo, Kaiba following suit.

"Why can't I get my stuff?"

"According to the requirements of this project, you won't _need_ your stuff."

"What do ya mean?"

"If you're going to be my experiment, then I need to change everything. This includes the way you look and dress." Kaiba smiled inwardly. This was going to be fun. The Mutt was _his _now, to do with as he pleased.

Kaiba suddenly balked when this thought crossed his mind. _Why am I getting a rush from calling him my Mutt? He isn't mine. But…I have to admit I wouldn't mind him belonging to me. He's just like a dog sometimes; loyal, compassionate, clumsy, adorable…Where the fuck did that come from? _As Kaiba started arguing with himself in his head, he didn't notice the sudden change in Joey's demeanor.

The blond put a shaky hand to his head as he was hit by a wave of dizziness and nausea. What the hell was wrong with him now? Was he really getting sick or did he have a concussion or something from where he was hit?

Panic slowly started to seize him when he started blacking out. "Kaiba?" he gasped out. What else could he do? He was scared something was wrong with him and the CEO was the only one there.

Kaiba was surprised, to say the least, when he heard fear in Joey's voice. And when he turned to face him, he was shocked into action. "Mutt? What's wrong?" he asked as he reached over and steadied Joey in his seat.

"Can't see," he whispered as he clutched onto Kaiba's arm.

Can't see? "What do you mean you can't see?"

Joey swallowed hard and squeezed his eyes shut when a wave of pain coursed through his body. He whimpered slightly, waiting for it to pass.

By this time, Kaiba was literally freaking out. What the hell was wrong with his Mutt? His Puppy?

Reacting more out of instinct than anything else, Kaiba gently grabbed Joey and pulled him into his lap securely and tried to get him to relax.

"Easy there, Puppy," he said soothingly.

Joey was temporarily brought out of his pain-filled delirium when he realized Kaiba was being…comforting. And gradually, the pain began to subside and his vision finally cleared, but he was still scared to death.

Kaiba, noticing that Joey no longer seemed to be in pain—at least for now—turned the blond to face him. "Puppy?" he called out softly.

Recognition seemed to dawn in Joey's eyes, but there was confusion there, too. "Puppy?" Today was the first day Kaiba had ever called him that, and he had to admit, it was better than Mutt.

The brunet froze. Shit. Had he actually said that out loud? By the puzzled look on Joey's face, he assumed he did. "Yes. Puppy. You're more a puppy than a mutt anyway," he mumbled in explanation for his slipup.

"Oh," Joey replied, looking down at his lap. That's when he noticed whose lap he was in. And then he was trying to struggle out of Kaiba's hold. "Let me go."

"No," Kaiba said forcefully, pulling Joey back into his lap. "And stop flailing. You'll only make what's wrong with you worse."

It was Joey's turn to freeze. Worse? He didn't want to feel worse than he already did.

When the blond stopped moving, Kaiba decided now was the time to figure out just what was going on with him. "How are you feeling now?"

Joey eyed him hesitantly. Why should he tell him anything? "Why do ya wanna know? Ya don't care," he responded quietly.

Kaiba couldn't help but feel his heart go out to him. Joey sounded so helpless…so…_alone_. "Maybe I do. Now tell me. How are you feeling?"

"Not…good."

Sighing in irritation—for what felt like the hundredth time that day—Kaiba asked, "Do you feel sick? Are you hurt anywhere?" At this, he felt Joey stiffen. Thinking he struck gold, he continued. "Where are you hurt?"

Joey just shook his head.

"Where are you hurt, Puppy?"

Closing his eyes again, Joey tried to wish everything away, but failed miserably. Why did Kaiba have to sound so…concerned? It made his heart ache for something more.

"Puppy, if you're hurt, tell me where so that I can have my doctor take a look at you," Kaiba insisted.

"Everywhere." Joey decided to give in.

"What?"

"I hurt…everywhere." _Please don't ask how._

"How did you get hurt?"

_No. I can't tell. Because then I'll remember and I'll…no! I can't cry now! _Joey squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, but he couldn't help the little tear that escaped.

Kaiba noticed it. "Puppy."

"Mr. Kaiba, we're here, sir," his driver suddenly announced.

Momentarily startled, Kaiba looked back at Joey, concern bubbling inside of him. "We're home, Puppy," he said softly, hoping to coax Joey into cooperation. Sliding the blond off his lap, Kaiba slipped out of the limo and waited for Joey to follow suit.

When he finally did, Kaiba had to rush over to catch him when he lost his balance.

Pain shot up Joey's leg, making it feel as if it were on fire. He'd overworked his sprained ankle. He knew that, and he wouldn't be able to get around without help.

"Puppy?" There was Kaiba's concerned voice again. "Are you okay to walk?"

Joey hated to admit it, but he didn't think he could even make it a step. Shaking his head, Joey got the shock of his life when Kaiba lifted him bridal style and started carrying him to the mansion, babbling his head off.

"I'm calling my doctor as soon as I get you inside. You will _stay _in bed unless I say otherwise. I don't want you getting worse. You _will _tell me what happened. You'd better be honest with me as well," he rambled as he stepped through the front door.

"Seto!" came a high-pitched voice, along with pounding feet. "And Joey!" Mokuba exclaimed, quite surprised. But soon, a mischievous twinkle was in his eye as he noticed the position they were in. Hey, it wasn't every day you saw your older brother waltz in through the front door holding their secret crush like a bride. Not that his brother knew that he knew, of course.

Mokuba's loud voice was a bit too much for Joey to handle at the moment, for he placed a hand to his head again and whimpered slightly.

"Joey?" Mokuba called, this time softer. Concern and worry were etched on his face as he looked to his brother for an explanation.

"Call my doctor and tell him to get here. Soon," said Kaiba as he made his way toward the stairs. Mokuba raced off to do his bidding.

When Kaiba reached the top of the stairs, he debated where to take his Puppy. For the love of—_h__is _Puppy? He really needed to stop doing that…even if he really _did_ like the blond in his arms. How could one simple crush make him want to do anything for him? But he highly doubted Joey felt the same.

Deciding he'd much rather have Joey in his room than anywhere else, that was exactly where he took him. And as he gently placed the blond on the bed, he stepped back to take in his pallid complexion.

Joey took in his 'blue' surroundings apprehensively. This had to be Kaiba's room. But why would he take him here? Feeling uncomfortable, he was about to say something when he felt a weight on the bed next to him.

"My doctor will be here to check on you in a bit. Do you want to tell me anything before he gets here?" Kaiba asked honestly.

Joey remained silent.

"Then I guess I'll just find out after he examines you," Kaiba said finally as he stood from the bed.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Seto? Dr. Henry is here," announced Mokuba.

"Let him in."

The bedroom door opened and in came Mokuba and Dr. Henry. He was a tall man who looked to be in his mid-forties with graying hair.

"My patient is on the bed, I presume?"

"Yes," responded Kaiba.

"Then I'd like to ask the both of you to leave so that I may examine my patient in private."

Kaiba debated his options, but decided it was for the best. Taking Mokuba, they left Joey with the doctor.

* * *

"How long does it take to do a stupid examination?" Kaiba grumbled under his breath as he paced the living room floor.

Mokuba just sat on the couch and watched his brother helplessly. "Is Joey gonna be okay, Seto?"

Pausing, he stared at his brother, sighing tiredly. "I hope so."

"You…should tell Joey you like him."

Kaiba's head shot up and a light blush stained his cheeks. "What? How'd you—"

"I'm your little brother. I know everything about you. You should know by now that you can't hide anything from me. Especially that diary of yours," he snickered.

"You—"

"Mr. Kaiba?" Dr. Henry's voice interrupted their conversation.

"How is he?" Kaiba asked, rounding on the poor doctor. "Is he going to be okay? What's wrong with him?"

Dr. Henry placed his bag down and stared at the nervous CEO. "He's suffered a mild concussion, which explains the slight blackout he had accompanied by vision loss, but that will clear up if he takes it easy. He has a few bruised ribs, which I've wrapped, and a severely sprained ankle. I've wrapped that as well. Make sure he stays off it for a few days. He…is also covered in numerous bruises. Some bad…some severe…and he appears to be a bit malnourished. I think he's being abused. Are you aware of his home life?"

Kaiba was still trying to take everything in. "He…um, he lives with his father. I know that he…drinks quite often."

Nodding, Dr. Henry continued. "I shall report him to the authorities. Make sure Mr. Wheeler remains in bed for the next few days, make sure he starts eating well, and give him the painkillers I've left on the bedside table. He has a bit of a cold, mainly due to his immune system being shot from malnutrition, but the painkillers, rest and a few balanced meals should fix him up. Take good care of him," he said.

As he left, Kaiba and Mokuba just stood there in silence.

His Puppy was being abused? By his father? For how long?

"Give him some painkillers and I'll get him something to eat, okay?" said Mokuba, trying to get his brother to respond.

Kaiba nodded absently and went up the stairs and entered his bedroom. Joey was curled up in the center of the bed, trembling.

"Puppy?" Kaiba called softly. When he received no response, he decided to try a different tactic. "Joey?"

Well, that was new. Uncurling himself, Joey slowly turned to see the brunet staring at him—dare he say it—tenderly. Suddenly, the blond's eyes watered. "He told ya, didn't he? He told ya."

Kaiba sat on the bed and pulled Joey into his arms. "Dr. Henry told me that someone had been abusing you. Was it…your father?"

"Yes," Joey stammered out between sobs as he buried his face in the crook of Kaiba's neck and cried.

"Then how would you like it if you never had to go back? You can stay here."

"What? But why—"

"Because no one should have to go through something like that," Kaiba interrupted. "So you will stay here and for the next few days you _will _remain in bed. Dr. Henry said you need to take it easy. You've got a mild concussion, bruised ribs, a sprained ankle, and you're malnourished."

Joey appeared stunned. That much was wrong with him? "I'm…gonna be okay, right?"

Kaiba nodded. "If you rest and eat well, you'll be fine."

Silence followed as they tried to figure out what else to say to each other. It…was strange not fighting about something. This was the closest they had ever been to being sociable to one another.

Here they were, in the same room, each harboring a crush for one another without the other's knowledge, and they couldn't say a word. Even with how Kaiba was helping Joey now, the CEO couldn't find it in him to express his true emotions to the blond.

The awkward silence was soon disrupted, however, when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in, Mokuba," said Kaiba.

Mokuba walked in with a tray filled with food. "How did you know it was me?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Who else would it be?"

Laughing in embarrassment, Mokuba set the tray on the bedside table and looked over at Joey. "How are you feeling?"

"Um…okay now, I guess," Joey replied hesitantly.

"I brought you food," Mokuba cried brightly. "I didn't know what you liked, so I just grabbed whatever I could find."

Kaiba looked at his little brother disapprovingly. "I hope it's not all junk food, Mokuba."

"It's not. I made you a couple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And I got you a banana, some carrot sticks, chips, cookies, pudding, and some milk," Mokuba stated proudly.

Joey couldn't help but smile at the younger boy's enthusiasm. "Looks good," he said softly. He moved out of Kaiba's grasp when he noticed he was still in his arms and settled himself in the middle of the bed. Mokuba put the tray next to him and tossed the bottle of painkillers to Kaiba.

"I'll let you eat and then Seto can give you something for the pain," stated Mokuba as he headed toward the door. But before he left, he turned his worried eyes on Joey. "And please get better soon."

Joey was taken aback by Mokuba's sudden seriousness. "I will."

Mokuba, content with Joey's response, left the room in peace.

"What was dat all about?"

Kaiba sighed and looked at the blond. "He's worried about you."

"Oh." Joey fidgeted with his shirt. "Are ya worried about me, too?"

The blond swore he saw a light blush staining Kaiba's cheeks, but before he could verify it, it was gone.

"You should eat. Then I'll give you some painkillers. All right?" responded Kaiba after a moment's hesitation. Feeling slightly disappointed by the brunet's response, Joey nodded and quietly began eating.

About a sandwich later, Joey said he was full, and he drank the milk with the painkillers.

Kaiba was not pleased by how little Joey ate, but he pushed that worry aside. Perhaps his Puppy was just too tired to really eat anything. Besides, the blond looked as drained as he felt.

"Do you want to change into something more comfortable?" Kaiba asked suddenly.

"Sure," Joey stuttered. Kaiba acting both nicely and distant at the same time was confusing. Did the CEO like him or did he just feel pity for him?

A rustling sound drew him from his thoughts. "Put these on," said Kaiba, tossing a pair of pajamas next to him. "Let me know if you need any help or when you're finished dressing." Kaiba then headed into the bathroom with his own change of clothes.

Joey looked down at the red silk pajamas Kaiba had left him with. They were smooth to the touch and seemed comfortable, even if they did appear a bit too big.

Taking off his shirt, he slipped the pajama top on and did the same with the pants. As soon as he finished, he let Kaiba know he was done. When the CEO came back into the room, he was dressed in a matching pair of pajamas, but these were blue instead of red.

"Are you ready to get some sleep?" asked Kaiba.

Joey nodded, but then he realized something. Where was he going to sleep? "Where am I gonna sleep?"

"Here," Kaiba answered a little too quickly as helped Joey up so that he could pull down the blankets.

"Wit' ya?"

Kaiba gave him his signature smirk. "I need to make sure that you're resting and not doing anything to harm yourself further, so yes, you'll be sharing my bed with me. Now get in."

Joey started to visibly tremble, not sure that he could quite trust the smirking brunet.

"Puppy," Kaiba began calmly, "I'm not going to do anything to you. I promise. I just want to be here in case you need anything or if your current condition worsens. You had a fever earlier and I want to keep an eye on you. I don't want you getting any worse. Now come to bed." Sliding into the bed, Joey soon found himself under the blankets with Kaiba lying right next to him.

Kaiba quickly realized that it looked like his Puppy wanted to ask him something. "What is it, Pup?"

"Could ya…never mind. It's stupid," Joey mumbled as he rolled so that his back was facing the CEO.

"Puppy, don't be afraid to ask me anything."

Joey shyly looked back at Kaiba and muttered, "Could ya…hold me until I fall asleep…please?"

When Kaiba made no indication of responding, Joey turned away from him again. It was a stupid idea anyway. Why would someone like Kaiba ever do something like tha—

Joey yelped as he suddenly felt two strong arms wrap around his body. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" whispered Kaiba.

Sighing contentedly, Joey replied, "No."

But he was still a bit tense. Kaiba knew that. He also knew that it would take a while before Joey would trust him. "Goodnight, Puppy."

"Good…night," he mumbled, his consciousness fading. It had been a long day and he was really tired. Joey figured he'd just sort out his feelings and the mess he'd gotten himself into tomorrow.

Kaiba relaxed and let a smile show on his face when he heard the soft snoring coming from his Puppy. Tightening his hold around him, he made himself more comfortable and thought about what tomorrow would have in store for them.

Perhaps the only way to truly get Joey to trust him would be to get to know him. It was probably a good thing that they had this Social Behavior Project to complete. This would give him the leverage he needed to…court his Puppy, if you will.

"Tomorrow, we'll start our project. Isn't that right, my fair Puppy?" Kaiba smirked at the sleeping blond. He couldn't wait until tomorrow. Although this was strange coming from him, he had to admit, what he had planned sounded quite…fun.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	2. Saturday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Saturday**

Joey rolled over onto his side and sighed as he gazed at the sleeping brunet next to him. It was early morning, and he was actually quite surprised that the CEO was still asleep, but that wasn't the reason he'd woken up so early.

His mind was plagued with thoughts of Kaiba's true intentions toward him. He'd treated him so…cruelly before. And now it seemed as if Kaiba was a completely different person. Did the brunet actually like him or was it just some sort of game?

Joey guessed he _could _see how Kaiba's insistent picking on him might be similar to a boy picking on a girl that he liked, but…Joey was far from being a girl! Knowing the cold-hearted CEO, the blond wouldn't put it past him to mess with him either.

But what if Kaiba _was _being sincere? Did he really want to blow his chances of having a real relationship with him? He knew he didn't want to mess things up, but how was he going to prove Kaiba's honesty? It wasn't like he could ask Kaiba straight out. His wall of defense would pop up faster than a computer's firewall protection.

So what could he do?

Joey stared at the CEO for a full five minutes before an uncharacteristic idea popped into his head. Would Kaiba be honest and show his true self if he—Joey—were not himself?

There was only one way to find out, but he needed to wait for the brunet to wake before he could put his plan into motion.

* * *

Kaiba awoke with a start. A rush of memories from the previous day suddenly flashed through his mind. Yesterday couldn't have been real…could it? The soft sound of snoring next to him let him know that yesterday had been, in fact, a reality.

A small smile spread across his face as he brushed a few strands of hair out of his Puppy's face, abruptly causing the blond to wake up.

And scramble away from him in a manner of seconds with a terrified look on his face!

"Puppy? Are you all right?" Kaiba asked unsurely, eyeing the frightened blond warily.

Joey cocked his head in confusion. "Puppy? What puppy?"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "You."

"Me…what?"

Kaiba growled. "Are you purposely being dense this morning, Joey?"

"Who's Joey?" the blond stuttered.

Eyes widening in surprise, Kaiba jumped out of the bed and raced over to the blond frantically. "You don't know who you are?"

Joey stared at the floor and raised his eyes hesitantly toward the brunet, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "No," he answered quietly before he looked back down at the ground.

Kaiba didn't know if he wanted to faint, throttle the blond, or kill his doctor. Although his third choice appeared to be the most appealing, it was out of the question. Then it dawned on him.

His Puppy had amnesia!

Joey observed the horrified look on Kaiba's face and inwardly smirked. Everything was going according to plan. He knew the acting he'd developed in his gang days would be good for something. All he had to do was continue with this façade until he knew what he wanted to know.

"Who…are ya?" Joey questioned softly, keeping up his flawless performance.

Kaiba was startled out of his reverie. "I'm…I'm Seto Kaiba."

"Okay. Dat's yer name, but _who _are ya?"

_Who am I? What the hell is that supposed to mean? _Kaiba thought. This was getting weird. But Joey's next words threw Kaiba for a loop.

"Are ya…my lover or somethin'?" Joey inquired innocently. He noticed that Kaiba's face turned an awful shade of red.

"Lover?" the brunet sputtered. "What makes you think we're lovers?"

Joey cocked his head to the side, making himself appear quite pure and innocent. "We…slept in da same bed, right? And dese are too big for me," Joey replied, indicating his pajamas. "Dey're yers, right?"

Kaiba struggled to get out a straight answer. "Yes, those are my clothes, but we're not lovers!" he explained hurriedly. "I don't even think you really like me."

Joey seemed to contemplate his words for a moment. "Do ya…like _me_ den?"

How the hell was he supposed to answer _that_? Of course he liked him! But he couldn't tell Joey this _now_, right? He didn't even remember anything! But if he did tell his Puppy how he felt, it would be like getting some practice in before he could _really _confess. And maybe if he did it now, he wouldn't face rejection. But if he did do it now, and his Puppy remembered what he did at a later time, what would happen then?

Kaiba started to get a headache. All that frantic, obsessive compulsiveness over one's crush could really take it out on a person. Why did emotions have to make things so complicated and strenuous? Fucking emotions.

"Yes," Kaiba muttered.

Joey's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

Blue eyes, now swimming with raw emotion, blazed before him. "I do like you…very much. I have for a long time. Don't feel obliged to respond to how I feel toward you. You're…not in your right mind. You'll probably be throwing insults at me again before you know it."

Was it just him or did Kaiba actually sound hurt? Joey had to admit, he'd been surprised when Kaiba admitted that he liked him, but he hadn't been ready for how _much_ Kaiba liked him. He'd never seen the brunet so vulnerable. And there were more emotions radiating from him now that showed love and compassion than any time he'd ever been angry and irritated when they fought. Kaiba's response had just about floored him.

"I…" Joey began, but he couldn't seem to be able to string a sentence together.

Kaiba gave him a pained smile. "You don't have to say anything. Right now, I'm just concerned about your health. Just…give me a few minutes and I'll call my doctor. I think…you might be suffering from temporary amnesia or something. Maybe from the bump on your head?" It sounded like Kaiba was talking more to himself than Joey for the time being, for he kept rambling to himself.

He stopped, however, when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Kaiba turned to face the concerned looking blond. Forcing a smile onto his face, the brunet led him to the bed and sat Joey down. "Just stay here and relax. I'll be back in a minute," he said as he walked into his bathroom and shut the door, leaving Joey all alone.

"Fuck," the blond mumbled under his breath. He didn't know whether he should feel elated or disgusted with himself for pulling his 'amnesia' stunt.

On the one hand, he'd discovered that Kaiba more than likely had a major crush on him…like he did. He should feel happy about that, right? But on the other hand, he'd just seriously hurt the CEO. Joey hadn't meant to; it just sort of happened that way.

Well, it was time to put an end to his little charade. Perhaps getting Kaiba to _really _confess to him would be a better plan.

* * *

Kaiba gripped the sink in his bathroom shakily. Why did everything in his life have to go wrong? His Puppy—_his_ Puppy—was sitting in his room, on his bed, suffering from a case of amnesia! And here he was, hiding in his bathroom because he was too terrified to face the situation at hand.

He'd just confessed to his Puppy…who had no fucking memory of either him or himself! What kind of a person _was_ he? Taking advantage of him like that in such a vulnerable state was detestable!

But all he could do now was make sure his Puppy would be okay. All he had to do was call his doctor and hopefully everything would straighten itself out soon.

Steeling himself, Kaiba opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom.

"Mornin', rich boy."

Kaiba froze and stared apprehensively at the blond sitting on his bed. Did he just step into the Twilight Zone or something? Had he been dreaming? Sleepwalking? Just who needed the doctor?

"Ain't ya gonna say anythin', Kaiba?"

"You know who I am?" exclaimed the brunet, surprise evident on his face.

"Why wouldn't I?" Joey raised an eyebrow at him.

"But…you…a few minutes ago…I'm calling Dr. Henry," Kaiba finally decided. This was way too much for him to handle right now.

"No!" Joey protested, reaching out to prevent the brunet from grabbing the phone next to the bed.

"Puppy, you didn't remember who I was this morning. Hell, you didn't even remember who _you _were. And now you do? Something's not right. I'm calling Dr. Henry," he insisted.

Joey swallowed hard. It was now or never. "I lied."

Kaiba paused in dialing to look at the blond incredulously.

"I faked it. Forgettin' everythin'? I made it up."

Kaiba slammed the phone down. "Why the fuck would you do something like that?" he ground out.

Joey winced at the resounding bang that seemed to bounce off the walls from the slammed phone. "I…had to know da trut'."

Any self-restraint or patience Kaiba had had earlier was now gone. All he currently felt was absolute fury. "You fucking piece of shit! How dare you mock me! Is this just some little sick and twisted game for you? You just go ahead and squeeze the truth out of me and then spit it back in my face? I was worried sick about you and then you tricked me!"

Kaiba was furious. It scared Joey half to death. He hadn't expected Kaiba to react like this.

Shakily standing up, he approached the fuming CEO. "I didn't mean to hurt ya—"

"Hurt me?" And then the stoic and cold-hearted businessman was back. He smirked evilly at Joey. "Why would anyone as pathetic and worthless as _you_ hurt _me_? I'm done with you," he stated coolly as he headed for the door.

A hand shot out to stop him. "Seto—"

Kaiba reached out and grabbed the front of Joey's shirt, yanking him toward him. The blond desperately fought against the tightening grip. "Don't you _ever _call me that again. Do you understand?" he growled threateningly.

Joey whimpered slightly and nodded. He was absolutely terrified of the brunet right now.

"Good. I want your good-for-nothing ass out of this house today," he spat as he pushed Joey away from him as hard as he could.

Kaiba turned and headed out the door. He didn't hear the scream. He didn't hear the snap of bone. He didn't hear the pained cries and sobs from within his bedroom.

He was far too livid.

* * *

Reaching downstairs, Kaiba stormed into the kitchen. How dare that Mutt manipulate him that way? And for what? To—

"I never let him answer me," Kaiba said in sudden realization. "I was so mad that he'd lied to me that I didn't give him a chance to tell me the truth."

Guilt gnawed at him. All of those hurtful comments he's said to…his Puppy…and it was all for nothing. He'd just lashed out because he was angry and because he could. His Puppy was already hurt and had been abused for quite some time, and he'd just screamed at him.

He should go back and apologize…and make Joey understand that he didn't mean all those mean things he'd said. He should go back and tell his Puppy that he truly did like him.

"Seto? What are you doing down here?"

Mokuba's voice snapped him out of it. "Uh…the Pup and I had a little fight."

"Seto," Mokuba sighed in exasperation, clutching the tray filled with the breakfast he'd made for Joey.

Kaiba noticed the tray in his brother's hands. "Go see him. I highly doubt he wants to see me right now."

Mokuba rolled his eyes, but left anyway. He headed up the stairs, taking the familiar path to his brother's bedroom. Pushing open the door, he put on a smile. "Joey, I—"

_Crash!_

The tray fell from Mokuba's hands as he took in the sight before him.

* * *

_Crash!_

Kaiba's head snapped up. What the hell was that?

Racing up the stairs, he bolted for his room, throwing open the door in the process. "Mokuba? What hap—" He couldn't finish what he was saying. How could he when he noticed the pain etched on his Puppy's face? But when he looked over the situation, he realized just what he'd done…and it pained him to no end.

Joey was half sitting on the floor next to the bed. His left hand gripped the sheets as if it were his very lifeline. He'd tried pulling himself up, but couldn't. He was in far too much pain.

After Kaiba had pushed him, he'd stumbled. And while trying to right himself so that he wouldn't injure his sprained ankle further, he'd slipped. The uninjured ankle was no longer uninjured; it was sprained as well. But that wasn't all.

His right wrist was broken. It had snapped. And was sticking out at an odd angle. Joey could have sworn it felt like bone was poking out through his skin, but he was frantically trying to keep consciousness rather than to look and see if that were true. It hurt so much!

"Puppy," Kaiba gasped as he raced over to the blond. He put one arm under Joey's legs and lifted them off the ground, the other wrapped around his waist as he put him in a sitting position on the bed. "Call the doctor, Mokuba!"

Mokuba hesitated slightly, but ran off to make the call anyway.

"I'm so sorry, Puppy. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm so sorry," Kaiba chanted over and over again.

"I know," Joey wheezed. "I know ya…didn't mean it. I shouldn't have…tricked ya. Sorry!"

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Kaiba whispered as he bent his head and rested it on Joey's shoulder as he rocked him comfortingly. "It was my fault. I got angry. I just…Puppy, I hope you know how sorry I am," he cried desperately.

With what strength Joey had left, he turned to face Kaiba. "I…know. I…like ya, too…Seto," he said before finally passing out from all the pain he had suffered, both physically and mentally.

When Kaiba felt Joey go limp in his arms, he panicked. "Puppy? Puppy, wake up!" he demanded, trying to gently shake Joey awake.

He had no such luck.

Minutes later, Dr. Henry came through the door with an ashen-faced Mokuba. Briefly looking over the blond, he said, "All right, Mr. Kaiba. I need you to lay him on the bed and then I need you to leave."

It was then that Kaiba noticed there were two nurses with Dr. Henry. So they were going to take care of everything here?

Kaiba did as he was told, and when he'd finally left the room, the door slammed in his face. Staring blankly at the door for a few minutes, he turned and aimlessly walked down the hall to his study. When he reached it, he opened the door and made to sit down on the couch he had in the room.

He didn't notice Mokuba follow him into the room until he heard a soft click from the door.

"Mokuba?"

_Slap!_

Kaiba held his cheek in surprise as he stared, open-mouthed, at his furious little brother.

"You hurt him! _You_ did that to him!" Mokuba yelled accusingly.

Lowering his eyes, Kaiba just stared at the floor in defeat. But that was all the answer Mokuba needed.

"How could you do that, Seto?" Mokuba's voice sounded lost. "Why would you hurt Joey? After all he's been through, why would you hurt him?"

Kaiba was at a loss for words. He hadn't meant to hurt the blond; he was just angry because he thought Joey was going to mock him for confessing to him. It wasn't often he opened up, because whenever he did, he got hurt. And that's just what he'd been expecting. But before he could be sure of what would really happen, he'd lashed out before any damage could be done.

And it had been the wrong thing to do. So wrong.

"I didn't mean to," Kaiba said quietly, turning his tear-filled eyes to Mokuba. "I didn't mean to hurt him. It just happened."

Mokuba was surprised that this had hurt his brother so deeply. "What happened?"

Kaiba squeezed his eyes shut. "He faked amnesia this morning…and I…I confessed to him. Then I left for a few minutes to get myself under control. When I came back into the room…he was himself again. I was concerned, so I told him I was going to call Dr. Henry. He tried to stop me, saying that he faked the whole thing. I asked him why and he said that it was because he wanted to know the truth."

When he paused, Mokuba urged him to continue. "Then what?"

"I…I got so angry…because he had tricked me. I thought…I thought that he was going to mock me for confessing to him or something, but I never gave him a chance to explain. I insulted him instead. When I was about to leave, he stopped me and called me 'Seto.' I…lost it then. I couldn't handle him acting so familiar toward me, so I insulted him again and pushed him away from me. I didn't know I hurt him. I didn't know I broke his wrist. I was so mad…so afraid of getting hurt by him, that I…I…"

Kaiba couldn't take it anymore and started crying, leaving Mokuba standing there in shock.

The brunet cried for everything bad that had ever happened to him. He cried for the death of his mother; he cried for the death of his father; he cried for getting adopted by Gozaburo; he cried for enduring the torture Gozaburo had put him through; he cried from the stress of being such a young businessman; he cried from all the people who constantly tried to take advantage of him, who constantly tried to use him and hurt him; he cried for the person he fell in love with and had hurt; and he cried for destroying Mokuba's faith in him.

It was just too much to deal with.

Suddenly, he felt two small arms wrap around his neck. Mokuba was hugging him.

This only made him cry more as he put his arms around Mokuba's small waist and hugged him tightly in return, all the while mumbling, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Seto. Everything's going to be okay." Kaiba was surprised by how forceful Mokuba's words were. He was supposed to be the strong one, not Mokuba. But he couldn't help but use his little brother for support anyway.

They stayed like that until Dr. Henry found them.

"Mr. Kaiba?" The brothers stood to face the doctor. "We put a cast on Mr. Wheeler's wrist and when he regained consciousness, he explained the situation. It seemed he tried to get out of bed himself and fell. While he tried to right himself on his good leg, he ended up slipping and twisted his other ankle, breaking his wrist in the process," he continued, casting a disbelieving glance over them. "His right wrist is in a cast and I've changed the wrappings on his ankle and ribs and have wrapped his other ankle. He's currently resting."

"Thank you," said Kaiba quietly.

"And Mr. Kaiba? If I am called here again before I have to remove Mr. Wheeler's cast, I am removing him from your care. Is that understood?"

He nodded quickly and watched as Dr. Henry left the study.

"Let's go see Joey," said Mokuba, tugging on his brother's hand.

The brothers left the study and headed for Kaiba's room. Unsure about what to do, Kaiba knocked on the door.

"Ya don't have to knock, ya know. It is yer room."

Embarrassed by his actions, Kaiba opened the door and stepped into the room with Mokuba. The mess created by Mokuba after dropping the tray had been cleared, and Joey lay on the bed…sort of. He was in a semi-sitting position with pillows propping him up. There was even a pillow under each foot. Kaiba supposed they were elevated for a reason. Joey's right wrist, now in a cast, was nestled in his lap.

"Doc says I gotta stay off my feet for two days. I have to stay in bed for _two whole days_. I'm not allowed ta walk. And I get da cast off in four weeks."

Joey turned his head so that he was looking at the Kaiba brothers. His attempt at normalcy didn't seem to be having the calming effect he'd hoped for.

"I'm okay," the blond insisted.

This seemed to relax Kaiba and Mokuba somewhat, so they came closer to the bed.

"Are you hungry, Joey?" Mokuba asked, knowing full well that the blond's stomach was probably downright complaining by now; that and he believed his brother and Joey needed some alone time.

Joey looked at him sheepishly as his stomach answered for him. "I guess I could use some breakfast."

"It'll be more like lunch, anyhow," replied Mokuba, smiling.

"Oh. Dat's okay, too."

Mokuba ran for the door to make lunch, but paused. Turning back around, he said, "Seto? Do you think we can eat lunch in here and watch a movie or something?"

"Sure," Kaiba answered, making Mokuba squeal in delight. "I have something in mind to watch anyway. Just give me a chance to find it."

After Mokuba darted through the door, Kaiba busied himself with searching for the movie he wanted to watch.

"Kaiba? Nothin's yer fault, ya know," Joey's soft voice broke through Kaiba's shuffling.

"I can't help but feel everything's my fault. I hurt you. I didn't mean to, but I still hurt you. You might be able to forgive me, but I can't forgive myself quite that easily," Kaiba replied, continuing his search.

"Why do ya gotta be so stubborn? Ya already said ya were sorry. If anythin'…I know ya meant dat."

Kaiba found what he was looking for and placed it on the dresser. Then he walked over to the bed and sat down next to Joey.

"Can I ask you a question, Puppy?"

"Go ahead."

Blue eyes suddenly bore in brown ones. "Why did you trick me this morning? What truth were you searching for?"

Joey dropped his head and stared at his cast. He was starting to get that burning sensation behind his eyes again. Why was it that the people he cared about most could always make him want to cry? Yes, he cared for his father deeply even though it seemed the old man couldn't care less. Plus…he really cared for Kaiba. But if he wanted Kaiba to feel the same way, he needed to be honest with him.

"I wanted to know how ya really felt about me. Ya usually call me names and pick on me, but when ya took me in and started actin' nice and stuff, I wasn't sure what ya were up to. I didn't know if ya actually cared or if ya were usin' me. So I faked losin' my memories this mornin' to figure out if ya really cared."

"And what did you find out?"

Joey looked at him hopefully. "I think ya do. But maybe I just…imagined it or somethin.' Dere's no way ya could like me." He jumped when he felt a hand on his chin.

"But I do like you, Puppy. I thought I told you that this morning," Kaiba replied with a gentle smirk. "I only picked on you and called you names because I wanted your attention on me…and _only_ me. I'm sorry if I hurt you because of it, but I really do care for you, Puppy."

Kaiba soon found himself with an armful of Puppy…well, almost. Joey had thrown his arms around the CEO's neck as best as he could in his current condition, and when the brunet's arms went around his waist, Joey felt safe at last.

"I'm glad ya care. I like ya, too," Joey sniffed. It felt good to be cared for by someone you liked in return.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Both Kaiba and Joey jumped away from each other when they heard Mokuba return, holding a new tray filled with sandwiches and a few sodas. The small boy trudged over to the bed and set the tray down.

"What are we gonna watch, Seto?" Mokuba asked, making himself comfortable on Joey's left side as he put the tray over the blond's lap. Kaiba got off the bed to put in the movie before settling himself on Joey's right.

"We are watching _My Fair Lady_." Two sets of eyes widened as they looked at Kaiba skeptically. "What?"

Mokuba frowned. "Why are we watching that?"

"Because the Pup and I have a project to do this break. He'll understand what we need to do after we watch it," answered Kaiba.

"But it's a musical," Mokuba responded slowly, as if trying to make sure his brother understood him.

"I know. It has a lot of value otherwise. There are lessons in phonetics, speaking properly, manners and etiquette, and dressing appropriately."

"But it's a musical," Mokuba emphasized.

Kaiba was starting to get flustered. "Would you just be quiet and watch the damn movie!" This response only served to cause a squabble between the two brothers, of which Joey watched amusedly, but he decided to intervene since the movie was starting.

"Guys, cut it out. Let's just watch da movie and eat da sandwiches before I eat 'em all." Kaiba and Mokuba huffed, miffed because their argument had ended so unsatisfactorily.

But they sat back and watched _My Fair Lady_ while eating sandwiches in peace.

* * *

"I will kill ya if ya plan on doin' _any _of dat," Joey said once the movie was finally over. "Just stickin' marbles in someone's mout' to talk right? What da hell is dat all about?" He glared at Kaiba, trying to will away any weird ideas the brunet had gotten from this film.

Mokuba, on the other hand, had gotten bored about half an hour into the movie and had left the two of them alone.

"I'll tell you what, Puppy. I won't use marbles to help you speak properly, but I will teach you how to enunciate."

"What's dat mean?"

"It means that you actually have to pronounce all the units of sound, or the phonemes." When Joey still looked lost, he said, "This should sound familiar, so repeat after me: The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain."

Joey rolled his eyes. "Da rain in Spain stays mainly in da plain."

"No. _The_, not _da_."

"Dat's what I said! Da!"

"No! Pup—stick your tongue between your teeth and go _th_."

Joey did so.

And sprayed spit all over Kaiba's face.

"Oops."

Kaiba just wiped off his face, appearing eerily calm. Perhaps this was going to be a bit harder than he thought.

"Again."

"But—"

"Stick your goddamned tongue between your fucking teeth and go _th _before I beat you over the head with this tray!" Kaiba snapped. Apparently that so-called patience he'd had earlier was no longer there.

Joey did as he was told, succeeding this time.

"Good. Now do that and go _the_."

Joey sighed. "D—!" Kaiba glared at him. That's right. Tongue between the teeth. "Th-e. The."

"Now repeat after me and try it slowly this time: The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain."

Taking a deep breath, Joey stuck his tongue between his teeth again, speaking slowly. "The rain in Spain stays mainly in…the plain." Joey beamed. "I did it! Did ya hear dat?"

Kaiba buried his face in his hands and groaned. This was going to take a long time indeed. How the hell was he going to get his Puppy to speak properly at this rate?

An idea suddenly popped into his head. Treats always worked when training a puppy. Why wouldn't it work on his?

* * *

**End Chapter**


	3. Sunday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Sunday**

"Do I have to do dis?" Joey asked helplessly. He was currently sitting across from Kaiba in the kitchen, who was holding a stack of premade flashcards with different…letter things on them as far as Joey could tell.

Apparently the rules of this game were that if he could successfully make it through a flashcard, he could have an M&M…a _single _M&M. Joey was a bit angry by this. M&Ms were his favorite candy of all time. How did Kaiba know that?

"Yes, Puppy. You do," Kaiba sighed. "In order for me to help you speak properly, I need to break everything down into sounds. By focusing on the smallest unit of sound, or phonemes, it will be easier to enunciate words accurately."

Joey groaned. He really didn't want to do this, but what choice did he have? Well, at least he was getting a reward this time around.

"Fine," he grumbled.

Kaiba smiled and showed him the first card. "This is the phoneme /A/ and is used in words like table, bake, train, and say. Now say, /A/."

"/A/."

"Good." Kaiba turned the card over. "After you pronounce each phoneme, I want you to say the word on the back of each flashcard, okay?"

Joey nodded and stared at the word. "Crape."

"It looks like you can have an M&M," Kaiba smirked.

The blond grabbed one and popped it into his mouth while Kaiba moved onto the next card.

"This is /a/ and you would use it in a word like flat. Say, /a/."

"/a/." Kaiba turned over the card. "Lamb."

"/b/ as in ball."

"/b/. Beat."

"/k/ as in cake, key, or back."

"/k/. Camera."

"/d/ as in door."

"/d/. Dribble."

"/E/ as in me, feet, leap, or baby."

"/E/. Shriek."

"You're doing great, Puppy. Next one. /e/ as in pet or head."

"/e/. Blend." Joey was really getting bored. "How many?"

"A lot. And we'll get through it a lot faster if you at least try like you want to do this. I'm actually trying to help you. And besides, if you make it through this, I'll give you an even better treat tomorrow," Kaiba replied huskily, giving the blond a seductive wink.

Joey tried desperately to hold back his blush, but failed. Well, if that's how Kaiba wanted to play this game, then he might as well step up to the plate.

"/f/ as in fix or phone."

"/f/. Fizz."

"/g/ as in gas."

"/g/. Frog."

"/h/ as in hot."

"/h/. Hog."

"/I/ as in bite, light, or sky."

"/I/. Fight."

"/i/ as in sit."

"/i/. Pig."

"/j/ as in jet, edge, or gem."

"/j/. Jump."

"/l/ as in lamp."

"/l/. Light."

"/m/ as in my."

"/m/. More."

"/n/ as in no or knock."

"/n/. Not."

"/O/ as in okay, bone, soap, or low."

"/O/. Boat."

"/o/ as in hot."

"/o/. Doctor."

"/p/ as in pie."

"/p/. Drip."

"/kw/ as in quick."

"/kw/. Quit."

"/r/ as in road, wrong, her, sir, or fur."

"/r/. Robot."

"/s/ as in say or cent."

"/s/. Spray."

"/t/ as in time."

"/t/. Tick."

"/U/ as in future, use, or few."

"/U/. Cue."

"/u/ as in thumb, about, or wagon."

"/u/. Punch."

"/v/ as in voice."

"/v/. Shave."

"/w/ as in wash."

"/w/. Wimp."

"/ks/ or /gz/ as in box or exam."

"/ks/. /gz/. Fox."

"/y/ as in yes."

"/y/. Yak."

"/z/ as in zoo or nose."

"/z/. Zipper."

"Very good, Puppy," Kaiba said approvingly.

"Are we done?" Joey inquired hopefully. He was really tired of making weird sounds. Who knew that twenty-six letters could do so many things?

"Not quite. I have thirteen sounds that I have found that are a bit harder for you to do, especially when it comes to using them in longer words. We'll go through these and you can take a break for the rest of the day. But I suggest you study these sounds in order to get your treat tomorrow."

Joey narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What kinda treat?"

Kaiba just smirked. "You'll just have to wait and see, Puppy. Shall we continue?" Seeing Joey nod, he continued. "/OO/ as in boot, truth, rude, or chew."

Well, that one seemed easy. "/OO/. Hoot."

"/oo/ as in book or put."

"/oo/. Good." To Joey, these seemed pretty easy.

"/oi/ as in soil or toy."

"/oi/. Boy."

"/ou/ as in out or cow."

"/ou/. Wow."

"/aw/ as in saw, caught, or tall."

"/aw/. Draw."

"/ar/ as in car."

"/ar/. Gargle."

"/sh/ as in ship, nation, or special."

"/sh/. Share."

"/hw/ as in white."

"/hw/. Where."

"/ch/ as in chest or catch."

"/ch/. Chunk."

"/zh/ as in measure."

"/zh/. Pleasure."

"Now I really want you to take your time with this next one, okay? Just take your time. /th/ or /th/ as in thick or this."

Joey huffed. This was where he would always go wrong. He knew that. "/th/…/th/…Thin…There."

"Great job, Puppy," Kaiba said, smiling. "Last one. /ng/ as in sing or think."

Great. Another one. "/ng/…String…Pink." Although he seemed to really stretch out his /ng/, Kaiba appeared impressed.

"It looks like you did it."

"I guess I did," Joey said quietly with a small smile on his face.

"I'm proud of you, Puppy."

Joey beamed.

"But just pronouncing these sounds on flashcards won't improve your speech. You need to start _thinking_ before you speak. You need to enunciate each word carefully. No more shortening words, either. From now on, instead of saying, 'don't,' say, 'do not.' Use /th/ and /th/ to replace your use of /d/; for example, the word 'the' instead of 'da.' Use /ng/ to replace your use of just /n/; for instance, 'using' instead of 'usin'.' Do you get the idea?"

Looking down at the table, Joey frowned, slightly disappointed that all his hard work still seemed meaningless. Kaiba noticed his somber expression.

"Since you did so well today," Kaiba began, making Joey's head shoot up, "I'll allow you to call me Seto."

Joey's eyes widened as he stared at the brunet with a blank look on his face. "Really?"

"Of course," he replied, getting up from his seat at the table. "If you're going to be mine, then I suggest you get used to using my first name." As he passed Joey, he leaned down and gave the blond a quick kiss on the forehead. "And you had better study those cards well if you want a special treat tomorrow.

Chuckling, he left Joey. Oh, what fun he'd have if the blond succeeded.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	4. Monday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Monday**

"Why are we in…your room?" Joey asked slowly as he was seated on the bed. Seto joined him soon thereafter, but sat across from him.

"I made more flashcards for you," Seto smirked mischievously.

"Okay." Joey wasn't quite sure where the brunet was going with this.

"We're going to play a game."

"What kinda…_kind_ of game?"

"Strip Phonics," Seto replied bluntly.

"Excuse me?" Joey exclaimed, blushing furiously. Was he serious? If he was, there was no way in hell he was going to do _any _form of stripping in front of him.

"I've divided the flashcards into six categories. If you get all the words correct in a category, then I will remove a piece of clothing. But if you miss at least one word in a category, I'll put my clothes back on. You won't have to strip at all, Puppy. Though I don't mind if you want to join in."

Joey blanched. He was at a loss for words. When he finally got his wits about him, his eyes narrowed at the challenge. "You're on!" he declared.

Seto raised an eyebrow.

Oh, yeah. He was supposed to stop abbreviating words. "I mean...you are on!"

Seto smirked. "The first category is: Short Vowels. There are ten words. If you can say them all correctly, I'll remove something. Ready?"

Joey nodded, but when Seto showed him the first card, he grew confused. "I'm not…I am _not_ sure…_that _is a real word," he finally managed to say.

"They aren't. These are made-up words, but if you've been practicing all of those sound patterns I gave you yesterday, you should be fine."

Sighing, Joey said, "Fine. Let's…er…let us get on wi_th _it. Lat. Ped. Sib. Mog. Vun. Fim. Hep. Yot. Rud. Cag."

"Very good, Puppy," said Seto as he slowly removed his black leather boots, dropping them to the floor carelessly. Joey gulped. "Are you ready for the next set?"

"Yeah…"

"The second category is: Digraphs, Blends."

"Sheg. Chab. Stot. Whid. Thuzz. Bruck. Cliss. Smend. Thrist. Phum."

Joey let out a deep breath when Seto started removing his socks next. He'd made it through this round, too.

"The third category is: Long Vowels."

"Sote. Mabe. Foap. Weam. Flay. Shain. Dright. Hupe. Heest. Sny."

"You're doing awfully well, Puppy. I guess you studied those flashcards thoroughly," said Seto as he removed his trench coat.

Joey internally bounced for joy. If he could at least make it through the next round, he was bound to see something good.

"The fourth category is: Other Vowels."

"Doit. Spoud. Clar. Foy. Jern. Moof. Lurst. Porth. Stook. Flirch."

Seto smirked. "What do you want me to take off next, Puppy?"

Joey paled slightly. He wanted _him _to decide? "Shirt!" he replied…a bit too eagerly, he decided.

"As you wish." Seto inwardly smirked as he watched his Puppy's alert eyes follow his hands as they gradually unbuttoned each and every button. He swore Joey started drooling when he let the shirt slip from his shoulders and onto the bed. "Are you ready for the next round?"

"Yes," Joey squeaked out, his eyes trailing over Seto's broad shoulders, muscular torso, and toned abs.

"The fifth category is: Multisyllabic Words."

"Rigfap. Churbit. Napsate. Reatloid. Foutray. Moku. Wolide. Lofam. Pagbo. Plizzle."

Joey stifled a groan when Seto started removing his belt. He let it clatter to the floor. When the brunet slowly unzipped his pants, the blond wanted to run and hide so that he could relieve himself of the bulge growing within his pants. Or at least hide it!

As soon as the pants were gone from Seto's legs, all he wore was a pair of blue silk boxers. And if Joey made it through the final round, the brunet would remove them!

It finally dawned on Joey that he could see the teenage billionaire sitting before him—the hot brunet he was madly in love with—naked!

With a fire in his eyes that Seto had never seen before, the brunet picked up the last set of cards. He knew these were the most difficult ones of all. Why? They were _real _words…and these very words encompassed all the flaws in Joey's normal speech that Seto knew of. If the blond could get through this small list of words, he knew that his Puppy would overcome his speech barrier.

"This last category contains _real _words, Puppy. Not fake ones. Take your time and think carefully on these words."

"How many are there?"

"Two," he stated simply.

Just two? That was it? Hell, Joey could get through two words.

But when Seto showed him the first flashcard, he paused. _Just great_, Joey thought. Should he really do this? If anything, he'd be closer to seeing Seto naked.

"No…th…ing. Noth…ing. Nothing." There. He did it. One more to go.

Seto let out the breath he'd been holding for his Puppy. Joey had successfully said the word, but the next one would be even harder for him.

_Shit_, thought Joey when he saw the next word. And he started contemplating. Well, it was now or never. "So…me…th…ing. Some…th…ing. Somethin'," he finished quickly, a little _too _quickly. He'd chickened out. He wasn't ready for this. Not yet.

"Sorry, Puppy," Seto said honestly as he started putting his clothes back on. Perhaps he'd rushed things a bit. Maybe Joey wasn't ready for this level of vernacular yet. His dialect was just too strong and came too fluidly. It was improbable to think that he could just correct Joey's speech in less than two days.

"Get out," Joey said quietly, beating himself up inside.

"What?"

"I said…get…out," Joey ground out. He seemed angry, but it was hard for Seto to determine whether it was at him or himself.

"I'm only trying to help you, Puppy," Seto replied as he got off the bed.

"Well I don't need your fucking help!" Joey snapped.

Seto balked. He hadn't anticipated this sort of reaction. "Puppy—"

"Just get out! I don't want you here!"

"This is my room!" Seto spat back. Frowning, he glared at his Puppy. "You sound like an idiot when you talk the way you do. Do you want people to think you're ignorant? Because you sure as hell act like you are."

"I don't have to speak like you in order for people to take me seriously! Now get out and leave me alone! I hate you!" he screamed as he collapsed to the bed.

Burying his face in the pillow next to him, he started crying. Why did Seto have to go and make him feel worse? All he'd wanted was to be left alone because he'd been disappointed in himself and wanted to brew. But then Seto had to go and insult him…again. Why did he even put up with him?

Seto felt a pang in his chest when he saw Joey huddled on the bed, crying. He'd hurt him again. Again! Hadn't he done enough?

And now he'd probably just ruined his chances of ever helping Joey improve his speech. How _could_ he help him? And how could he make Joey understand that he was only _trying_ to help him? How could he let him know that the current way he spoke would force potential employers to turn him down from a job? How could he convince him that he was trying to give his Puppy a better future?

There had to be a way…right?

* * *

**End Chapter**


	5. Tuesday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Tuesday**

Joey woke with a start, breathing heavily. He'd just had one hell of a nightmare if his shaking was any indication. "Seto?" he called out fearfully. He needed someone to make the sense of dread go away.

Glancing around the dark room, he noticed that not only was Seto not here—and apparently hadn't been since he'd left him yesterday afternoon, if the unused space beside him was any indication—but that it was early. Very early. Like five in the morning early. And he felt so wired that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep even if he tried.

Plus, that nightmare had made him start sweating profusely. It didn't feel like he had a fever or anything, so he could rule that out.

But he really did wish _someone _was here. The fear of being alone became alarmingly strong. He hated being by himself, was terrified of being by himself, and yet here he was…alone…abandoned.

Throwing the sheets off, Joey tried to push those thoughts from his mind by focusing on something else. Like deciding that he would try moving around by himself today.

Hesitantly placing his feet on the floor, he put all of his weight on them as he stood. When he didn't feel any pain shoot up his legs, he took a few careful steps around the room. Pleased with the fact he could walk by himself, he went toward the window, opening it all the way to let in some cool air.

No such luck.

Today was going to be a _very_ warm day. Joey could tell that already even though the sun wasn't even up yet. The air felt humid. There wasn't a single breeze. Everything was completely still outside. The leaves didn't even move in the trees; not in the slightest. He couldn't even hear the early chirps of birds.

Joey guessed it was going to be one of those muggy days where people usually stayed indoors because it was too hot to do anything else. He really hated those kinds of days. He was already soaked with sweat, but he actually didn't know if that was from his nightmare or the impending heat.

Heading toward Seto's dresser, he rummaged around until he found something that might fit him. When he discovered a pair of decent shorts and a light tank that he could wear, he headed for the bathroom to change. Quickly splashing his face with cold water, he took a few deep breaths before taking off his pajamas and putting on the new clothes he'd found. He hoped Seto wouldn't mind; it wasn't like he'd ever seen the brunet wear anything like this before anyway.

As he reentered the bedroom, Joey sighed and contemplated what he should do next. He highly doubted anyone was awake, and he really didn't know where to find Seto. He wanted to apologize for his behavior yesterday, but he was too afraid to face him at the moment.

Wanting to delay his confrontation with the CEO for as long as possible, Joey left the room and gradually made his way downstairs. When he noticed a dim light coming from the living room, he steeled himself for the worst and decided on heading there. Perhaps he could apologize to Seto now before Mokuba woke up.

Timidly entering the room, his eyes panned the faintly lit room. When he only spotted Mokuba, he just stood there like an idiot.

Mokuba raised his head from the comic book he'd been reading and noticed Joey just standing there. "Hey. You're up early."

"I could say the same about you," Joey began, using proper speech.

Mokuba looked at him strangely for a moment before breaking out into a smile. "I guess my brother's training has really paid off."

"Hm…have you seen him yet?"

"No, but I don't think he's going to work. I checked the news earlier. We're hitting a heat wave and we're supposed to have rolling blackouts to save money or something, so he probably won't be at Kaiba Corp. today."

"Oh…wait. How long have you been up?" Joey asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow at him.

Mokuba gave him a weak chuckle. "Um, since three. I…couldn't sleep. I get restless in this kind of heat," he explained.

"So what have you been doing?" Joey moved to sit on the couch next to Mokuba.

"Reading comics. I'm into the alien invasion kind. So for the past couple hours, I've been reading those."

Joey glanced over the elaborate artwork on the covers of the comic books. They looked amazing.

"What kinds of comics do you like?" Mokuba asked.

"I've…um…never read any before," Joey answered meekly. It's not like he'd ever had the extra money to get something like a comic book.

Mokuba appeared surprised by this. "Really?"

"I never have any money to spare on comics. I remember walking by the stores when I was little, though. I would see the covers in the windows and wish that I could have one. Even if it was just one, I knew that it could be mine. Just…mine."

Mokuba's eyes narrowed in confusion until what Joey was saying dawned on him. "You've…never had anything personal, have you? You've never had anything of your own." He couldn't even imagine being in Joey's position. To not have any personal possessions of _any _kind astounded him.

Joey shook his head. "One might think my deck could be considered mine, but…many of the cards were given to me. And my dad would never let me have anything." Joey's tone had taken a dark turn and it scared Mokuba a bit.

"Well, you can share my comics with me. You wanna read some?" he inquired eagerly.

His eyes lighting up, Joey answered, "Really?" Mokuba nodded. "Thanks."

So Mokuba and Joey rested on the couch reading comics together in the weakly lit living room as they waited for dawn to approach.

* * *

Two hours later, Mokuba and Joey were slightly freaked out. Apparently reading alien invasion comics that early in the morning, accompanied by the loud popping sound of the power going out, was a bad idea. A very bad idea.

But what really had them shaking like leaves was the fact that the setting in the comic books they were currently reading was quite similar to the setting they were in now.

The comics had taken place in early spring—which they were in—and the weather had grown considerably hot—which they were also experiencing. When they'd reached the part of the comic when the power when out, they'd nearly jumped out of their skin when the same happened at the mansion.

It was then that Mokuba and Joey couldn't quite shake the feeling that they were literally being invaded by aliens. The conditions were just too eerily similar to be dismissed.

"Maybe we should go find Seto," suggested Mokuba. He couldn't even get the small battery operated radio he had with the antennas to work. He'd wanted to listen to the news, but all he got was static.

"I haven't seen him since yesterday afternoon," said Joey, his voice laced with fear. The more he thought about them being invaded by aliens, the more it made sense.

One, the heat wave had come out of virtually nowhere! There hadn't been any predictions of it yesterday.

Two, why the hell was it so quiet outside? It was _still_ quiet and the sun had already risen and was a sweltering eighty-two degrees Fahrenheit. There were no signs of life whatsoever outside.

Three, where the fuck was everyone? Mokuba had said that the maids would normally be here by now, but they weren't. And the mansion was dissonantly quiet.

Four, nothing worked! The power was out; they couldn't get a signal on anything. They'd tried the radio, Mokuba's cell phone, _and_ his laptop. Nothing! No signal anywhere!

And five, where the fuck was Seto? He'd normally be up by now, right? Right?

"Maybe he got abducted by aliens," Joey blurted.

Mokuba's eyes widened. "Don't say that!"

But Joey just kept on going. "Maybe they took him after he left me in his room yesterday. And they probed him. And did experiments on him. And replaced him with a pod person or something." Joey grew even more frantic with everything he said.

Mokuba, on the other hand, was desperately trying to keep those sorts of images from his mind. But they still came unbidden to his thoughts. What if his brother _had _been abducted by aliens? Come to think of it, his brother hadn't even checked on him last night when he went to bed!

"Oh, no! Seto's been abducted by aliens!" Mokuba screeched.

* * *

Seto stepped out of the cold shower he'd just taken and slipped on a pair of shorts and tank top. Just why did it have to be so hot?

But even though the weather was uncomfortably warm, he still wanted to proceed with his plan. Yesterday had been a complete bust. He wanted to help Joey understand that his normal dialect was crippling him, not helping him. And the only way he thought he could make Joey understand would be to do the one thing he'd never thought he'd do.

He'd act like Joey for the day.

It would be completely out of his norm, but if that's what it took to make his Puppy understand the nature of his ways, then he would willingly do it.

* * *

Mokuba and Joey paced the floor of the living room while trying to remain calm. The bad thing was…it wasn't working.

"What do we do?" asked Mokuba.

"How should I know?" retaliated Joey. "All of the aliens in those comic books can pass off as humans!"

"Wait!" Mokuba gasped. "There's a checklist in one of the comics that tells you how to know if someone is an alien!"

"Which one?"

"I don't know."

"Let's look for it then!"

The both of them bolted for the comic books and searched frantically through them for the checklist.

"Mornin' guys."

They both froze. That had sounded a lot like Seto's voice, but not Seto's voice. He didn't talk like that. He _never _talked like that.

Mokuba and Joey slowly turned around, their jaws dropping. Seto was dressed in a loose white tank top, ripped looking shorts, and his hair looked like it was a complete mess. This was not the person Mokuba knew as his older brother, which left him with only one solution.

His brother had been replaced by an alien!

Joey had come to a similar conclusion. Although he hadn't known the brunet as long as Mokuba had—obviously—he could tell something was off. Something was seriously off.

"Ya guys had breakfast yet?" the alien-Seto asked.

Joey and Mokuba shook their heads mutely.

"I'll go and make us somethin' den, okay?"

They nodded and watched Seto leave the room, perhaps heading toward the kitchen. When he was gone, they both freaked.

"My brother's been replaced by an alien!" Mokuba hissed, yanking on his hair.

"Wait. We don't know that for sure. Just look at the checklist!"

Mokuba grabbed the comic he'd found the checklist in and opened it to the correct page.

"What does it say?" inquired Joey uneasily.

"There are ten ways to know if someone's been replaced by an alien."

"Okay. So…the first one?"

"It says that aliens dress in oddly revealing clothes. They find that clothing irritates their flesh, so the less they wear, the more comfortable they are. They also like to keep their fake human skin exposed to the air to allow it to breathe." Mokuba gulped. "And it says that they must never expose their flesh…that it has to remain pale because the sun burns their skin."

Joey and Mokuba stared in the direction of where the alien-Seto had gone and gaped. He _had_ come into the living room dressed in 'revealing clothes,' at least different from his normal clothes anyway. And they had to admit, he _was _awfully pale.

"What's the next one say?" Joey asked hurriedly. Maybe they were just jumping to conclusions.

"Um…the next one says that aliens have cold and clammy skin. Many aliens wear synthetic skin in order to look human. The skin is never as warm as real skin and feels slimy to the touch." Mokuba looked up at Joey. "That means one of us has to touch him."

"You do it. He's your brother!"

"Well, he likes you! And he probably won't mind being touched on his _bare _skin by you!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Ah ha! You have to touch him!" Joey proclaimed, doing a little victory dance.

Mokuba whined as he mulled over how he'd been tricked. How had Joey become so manipulative?

The blond snatched the comic from Mokuba's hands and placed it in the back pocket of his shorts before he grabbed the small boy and dragged him out of the living room and toward the kitchen. Before Mokuba could protest, he was ungraciously shoved into the kitchen…where his alien-brother stood making breakfast.

"Mokuba?" the alien-Seto questioned, eyeing him strangely.

"Hi!" the younger boy responded before latching onto his alien-brother, hugging him. When he pulled away, he let his hands graze the alien-Seto's pale arms. Mokuba paled himself when he felt they were cold and clammy, and dare he say it, slimy.

"What—"

"Later!" he exclaimed as he ran from the kitchen.

"Well?" Joey asked a panting Mokuba.

The smaller boy grabbed the blond's arms, shaking uncontrollably. "He's cold…and clammy…and slimy…"

"Maybe…he just got out of the shower. Yeah! That's it! He got out of the shower!"

"Give me the comic," Mokuba cried before snatching it away from the blond. "The next thing says that aliens have strange diets and that they can't digest most human foot. They're limited to what types of foods they can eat and most are vegetarians. Melons happen to be a favorite of aliens."

"Breakfast's ready!" called the alien-Seto.

Mokuba and Joey gulped and headed for the kitchen. As they sat down near the table, the brunet placed down several bowls of sliced fruit. One bowl just so happened to contain…melon. Cantaloupe, to be exact.

"Since da power is out, dis is all ya get. Enjoy," stated the alien-Seto, walking away with the bowl of cantaloupe in hand, eating some as he left the kitchen.

"This is…all just a coincidence, right? Right?" Joey begged Mokuba.

"I-I don't know. The first three signs all fit."

"Well, we have seven more to go. Do you think this stuff is poisoned?" Joey said, indicating the fruit.

At this, they both lost their appetite. "Let's…just move onto the next one."

"Okay. So what does it say?"

Mokuba frowned at the comic book. "It says that aliens smell. They use different perfumes, lotions, and deodorants to disguise their natural scent which can be offensive to most humans." He narrowed his eyes at Joey. "I already touched him! It's your turn! Go sniff him!" he ordered.

Joey balked. "Sniff him?" he squeaked. "Are you fucking kidding me? I'm not going to sniff him! Can't I do a different one?"

Mokuba looked back down at the comic. "The next one says that aliens wear huge sunglasses to hide their eyes because they have large, staring eyes that are hard to conceal. Sunglasses make them seem normal."

"But we already saw him this morning and he wasn't wearing any," Joey argued. "What about the next one?"

Mokuba groaned. These weren't getting any easier. "This next one says that aliens have strange bodily proportions. Apparently the newest breeds of aliens try to imitate human appearance, but they don't do it right. They're like exaggerated ideas of human perfection. And their stomachs are too flat, their chests are too big, and their faces are wrinkle free. Joey, either way, you're gonna have to get close to him."

Joey whimpered. He didn't want to be near the alien-Seto. "Let's go find him then."

They left the kitchen in search of the alien-brunet, and when they did find him, Mokuba nearly had to hurt Joey in order to get him to approach the alien-Seto.

That's how the blond ended up on the outdoor patio, the locked sliding glass door separating him from Mokuba, but keeping him within reach of the alien-Seto, who was currently laying on a lawn chair in the shade.

"Go," Mokuba mouthed through the glass. "I'll let you in after you check."

"I hate you," Joey mouthed back, but he turned and faced the alien-CEO. Upon further inspection, it looked like he had fallen asleep. But upon even closer inspection, he found that his world was being turned upside down.

The alien-Seto was wearing sunglasses! Hadn't Mokuba said something about sunglasses? And what was that smell?

Joey moved closer to the snoozing alien-brunet. The scent grew stronger. It smelled like…sun block or something. Hadn't Mokuba said that aliens masked their scent with lotions? Well, sun block was definitely a lotion.

Swallowing hard, Joey looked up and down the alien-Seto's body. Flat stomach? Check. Big chest? Check.

The blond stepped even closer.

Wrinkle free face? Che—

Joey sprinted for the door. "Letmein, letmein, letmein," he said hurriedly, clawing at the locked door like a caged animal.

"What?" Mokuba mouthed.

"Let…me…in!" Joey said loudly, causing the alien-Seto to stir slightly.

Mokuba fumbled with the lock. As soon as Joey heard the _click_, he was inside and down the hall before you could say, 'Duel Monsters.' Mokuba raced after him. When they reached the safety of the living room, they hid behind the couch.

"Well?"

"Sunglasses. Lotion. No wrinkles!" Joey gasped out.

"This isn't real, is it? This can't be real," Mokuba exclaimed.

"He's fit six things off that damn checklist so far," Joey growled. "It sure as hell seems real to me."

"Maybe it's a coincidence, like you mentioned earlier," the younger boy stated.

"Then what does the next thing say?"

"It says aliens are obsessed with technology. They spend hours talking on cell phones and sending emails. They're not talking to people; they're actually transmitting data they've accumulated back to their home worlds."

They both grew silent. If that were true—

"How long has your brother been an alien?" Joey screamed. "I almost saw him naked! What if he tried to have sex with me? What about all those slimy alien tentacle things rubbing and stroking and probing and—"

"Shut up!" Mokuba screeched, covering his ears tightly with his eyes shut as he tried to banish those thoughts from his mind. Joey's overactive imagination was getting to him.

But…his brother had spent a lot of time with technology. He was always on his laptop, never left his cell phone behind…

What if Kaiba Corp. was like the Mother Ship?

Joey snatched the comic book from Mokuba. There was no way in hell all this could be true! There had to be at least _something _here that would prove that he wasn't an alien.

"The next one says that aliens dance in inhuman ways," Joey began. That actually made him feel better. "Most alien species have completely different physiology than humans. They have the ability to move their bodies to music in ways no ordinary human can. This results in a dancing style that is quite breathtaking."

Mokuba and Joey started laughing. There was no way he would get caught dancing. The Seto they knew would _never _dance. Not in a million—

"Where's that music coming from?" asked Mokuba suddenly.

Joey started to hyperventilate.

They got to their feet and followed the sound of music. When they reached their destination, they almost fell over in shock.

* * *

Seto stood in his nearly empty work-out room. He was currently listening to the pan flute music he normally played when he practiced Tai Chi. He really needed it today. The stress from the heat was getting to him.

He was grateful that he'd charged his iPod before the power had gone out, and with the attachable speakers he'd connected to it, he'd be able to relax.

Seto couldn't wait until later, though. He intended to go all out in acting like his Puppy.

* * *

Joey just kept staring at Seto's weird form of dancing.

"He really is an alien," Mokuba deadpanned.

"What's the next one say?"

Mokuba's hands started shaking as he took the comic from Joey's taut fingers. "It says that aliens do not understand humans' sense of humor. They find it difficult to understand laughter. Even a simple knock-knock joke can throw them completely off. Aliens might laugh at inappropriate times, like during a funeral, or stare blankly at the funniest jokes."

"Okay. I can do this. I know a funny joke," Joey said, determination clearly evident in his voice.

Before Mokuba could stop him, Joey was already in the room, so he just hung in the doorway as a means of escape if it came to that.

"Seto!" Joey called, halting the alien-brunet's movements. He turned to face him. "How do you catch a strange rabbit?"

The alien Seto raised an eyebrow and remained silent.

"Unique up on it."

No reaction. Absolutely no reaction. He just stared blankly at him. It _was _a funny joke, right? Right?

Joey took a few steps back until he reached Mokuba. "What's the last one say?" he managed to squeak out.

"The last one says that by now, the aliens will know that you know far too much and will now abduct you."

It took a while before it sank in, but when it did—

"RUN!" Joey screamed, but he was too late. Mokuba had slammed the door in his face and bolted down the hallway, leaving him alone with the alien-Seto!

Joey spun around and pressed himself as far as he could against the door as he watched the alien-Seto approach him. When he was no more than two feet away from him, Joey dropped to the floor and curled up into a ball.

"Don't probe me!" the blond wailed.

* * *

Seto laughed once more. "I still can't believe you two thought I was an alien!" he sputtered.

Joey and Mokuba looked around the living room sheepishly, thoroughly embarrassed by their earlier behavior.

After 'the alien-Seto' had heard the entire story and proved he wasn't an alien—and when the power had kicked back on and they'd seen the news, which proved they weren't really being invaded by aliens—'the real Seto' had laughed nonstop for the better part of an hour.

Seto leaned back on the couch as he let his chuckles subside and glanced over at the clock. Was it that late already?

"All right, Mokuba. It's bedtime," he said.

"Okay. See you in the morning, Seto. Joey." Mokuba got up from the couch and headed up the stairs.

When Seto heard his brother's door shut, he stood up and picked up an unsuspecting Joey in his arms.

"What are you doing?" Joey exclaimed, shocked by the fact that Seto was carrying him even though he could walk.

"What's it look like, Puppy? I'm abducting you," Seto chuckled again.

"Will you cut it out already," Joey snapped as he tried to get the brunet to let him go.

"Sorry. Come on," he replied as he headed up the stairs with Joey in his arms. Like the blond had a choice.

When they reached his room, Seto shut his door with his foot and set Joey on the bed. Then he started pacing the floor. This started making Joey nervous. "Did you want to talk to me about something?"

Seto halted in his steps and smiled softly when he heard Joey say 'something' instead of 'somethin.'

"I'm sorry for hurting your feelings yesterday. I just…sometimes I get mad and lash out when I lose my patience. It was my intention to help you, not hurt you. I should have given you your space when you asked for it. For that, I'm sorry."

"I've already forgiven you for that," Joey stated softly, avoiding Seto's eyes. "I know you were only trying to help me. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm sorry, too."

At this, Seto sat on the bed. "And…I'm sorry for making you play Strip Phonics."

It was Joey's turn to chuckle. "You didn't make me play anything. It was…kind of fun. It's too bad I didn't win though."

"Maybe it's a good thing you didn't win," Seto said seriously.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…maybe I was rushing things. I think I'm going too fast and you're not ready. You're just now recovering from your injuries, you've had a tough home life for who knows how long, and you probably have lots of trust issues and—"

"Seto," Joey interrupted, looking distant. The brunet silence himself. "Out of everyone I've ever met—Tristan, Yugi, Tea, everyone—I've never fully trusted anyone…not even my sister. But with you…I feel like you're the only one I can trust. Why is it that I only feel safe when I'm around you?"

This time, Joey looked Seto in the eyes, and he could see passion burning there.

"Why?" Seto echoed. Joey nodded. The brunet didn't have an answer for him. "I don't know, Puppy. I really wish I did, but I don't. I do know that I can confirm what you've said. You _can _feel safe around me. You can trust me, because I want to keep you safe…and happy."

Joey laughed and kissed Seto on the forehead. "Thanks. Now let's get some sleep," he said as he moved to get under the covers. "You're staying with me, right?" he asked nervously.

"If you don't want me to, I'll leave," Seto answered unsurely.

"Please stay," Joey replied softly. "I don't want to wake up alone again."

Realization hit Seto. "You had a nightmare, didn't you?"

Joey bent his head down in shame.

Guilt gnawed at Seto. Because he'd been so mad at himself, he'd left Joey all alone, which more than likely had induced a nightmare. Of what, he had no idea. And when he'd woken up, no one had been there. His Puppy had probably felt abandoned or something. Just how long had Joey felt like that throughout his life?

"Don't worry. I'll stay with you," said Seto as he helped Joey crawl under the covers. He soon followed. "And I promise I won't let anyone else hurt you again. I will always be here for you."

Kissing Joey on the forehead, they both settled down for a well needed rest.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	6. Wednesday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Wednesday**

Joey sat at the breakfast table with Seto and Mokuba, happily devouring a bowl of cereal. The weather was still hot, but not quite as scorching as yesterday. He was glad, because sweating when you had a cast on was really irritating. Hopefully today would be a much better day.

"Can I play with your hair?" Seto asked suddenly, his blue eyes fixated on Joey's mess of blond hair.

The blond's spoon clattered to the table, his jaw dropping in shock, but it was Mokuba's reaction that was priceless.

The small boy had promptly spit his cereal from his mouth, spraying the partially chewed contents in every direction as he choked and gasped for air. "What?" the poor boy screamed.

Seto appeared unfazed by his brother's reaction—like it always happened or something—and continued staring at Joey.

Coming to his senses, the blond made the best and most eloquent response he could muster considering the degree of the question. "Huh?"

"I want to play with your hair," Seto reiterated, his expression grave.

"Why?" Joey asked, shrinking away from Seto and further into his seat.

"Because…it's so long and messy and untamed. It's wild. This can be an additional part of our project. I said I was going to aid you in making you presentable," the CEO explained.

Joey gulped. "And…just what did you have in mind?" he responded slowly.

"I'll just trim it a little to get rid of the split ends and style it some." Then he turned his eyes toward Mokuba, opening his mouth as if preparing to speak.

"No! You are not touching a single hair on my head!" yelled Mokuba, jumping from his seat.

Seto frowned. "Mokuba," he growled warningly.

"No way! Play with Joey all you want! I'll even help you, but you're not gonna touch my hair!"

Joey blanched and glared at Mokuba. How dare that little imp turn on him! "What the hell? You're taking his side?"

"It's better his side than yours at the moment!" Mokuba argued.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," grumbled Seto, rising from his seat. "When I'm finished with Joey, you're next."

Mokuba's eyes widened fearfully at his brother's proclamation. And reacting like some ninja, he bolted from the room and was out the door in a mere two seconds.

Joey took the chance to bolt right after him, only to come in contact with _another_ locked door. _Damn him_, the blond thought frantically. It was then he decided that he'd take every fucking doorknob off in this stupid mansion and throw them out. Mokuba wouldn't be able to trap him with Seto like this again.

"Oh, Puppy," Seto called from behind him.

Turning around, Joey gave him a sheepish grin. "Hey…um, about this hair thing…maybe another time?" he offered hopefully.

With the look Seto gave him, he knew that hope was not on his side.

* * *

Mokuba arrived home later that evening. After Seto had made threats about messing with his hair, he'd found it to be in his best interest to leave and not come back until now. He just hoped he wouldn't be in any trouble.

Cautiously making his way into the foyer, he wandered around aimlessly. All was quiet. Eerily quiet. It was so quiet he could hear his heartbeat echoing in the empty halls.

Gradually, he made his way upstairs, paused, and listened. Nothing. It was so quiet. Why was it so quiet?

"Boo."

Mokuba practically leapt out of his skin as he spun around, ready to face his attacker. "Seto?"

"Evening, Mokuba. Did you have a nice day out?" his brother inquired calmly.

"Yeah. Um, where's Joey?"

Smirking, Seto led him to his bedroom and opened the door. Mokuba peeked inside and noticed that Joey was sitting on the bed, his hands clutched to his shortened hair. It looked like he was pulling on it—like if he did so, it would grow faster or something.

"Joey?"

The blond's head shot up at the sound of Mokuba's voice. His eyes narrowed and a tedious glare crossed his features. "You left me!" he spat.

Mokuba took a hesitant step back, bumping into his brother in the process. "I'm sorry, Joey. I just didn't want _anyone _messing with my hair. I don't like it. So I ran."

"And left me with _him_!" Joey exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at the both of them.

"Pup, it wasn't that bad was it?" Seto asked casually.

"That bad? That _bad_? You assaulted me!"

"I did not assault you!"

"You fucking tied me to the damn sink!" Joey screeched.

"I only did that because you wouldn't stop squirming! How else was I supposed to shampoo and condition your hair?"

"I could have done it!"

"Not as well as I could have!"

"How do you know?"

"The condition of your hair for starters!"

"You're a fucking bastard, you know that?"

"Well, you're a—"

"Enough!" roared Mokuba. "Listening to you two argue is worse than a pair of cats fighting."

Both Seto and Joey shut their mouths and crossed their arms defiantly.

After sensing they'd calmed some, Mokuba said, "There's one thing I don't get though. Joey, if you didn't even want Seto to wash your hair or anything, why'd you let him cut your hair?"

"I didn't," Joey ground out through his teeth as he got off the bed.

As he made his way closer to Mokuba, the small boy fully notice change in Joey's hair. It was no longer a mess of blond locks. It had been trimmed, but did not pass his chin. His hair had also been layered and was now straight and shiny. In his opinion, Seto had done a fairly good job.

"So how—" Mokuba began, but Joey cut him off.

"Your fucking brother duct taped me to a damn chair. I couldn't move! At all!" Joey raged.

Mokuba fought rolling his eyes. Of course, his brother _would _go to such lengths to get what he wanted. In hopes that he could appease his blond friend, he said, "It looks really nice, Joey. You look really good."

That did the trick.

Joey's face no longer held anger, but embarrassment. Blushing brightly at the comment, Joey sat back down on the bed, took a blanket, and wrapped it around—what he felt was—his exposed head.

Seto sighed as he looked at his rocking Puppy. Gracefully moving toward the blond, the brunet knelt in front of him and grabbed his arms to stop him from moving. Pulling the blanket off, he gazed into Joey's timid eyes.

"You do look good, Puppy. And I'm sorry I went through such measures to…cut your hair, but I swear to you my intentions were good." When he received no response, he continued. "And to make it up to you, I'll take you on a little shopping spree. I'll notify the maids to have the bedroom next to mine cleared out and you can decorate it any way you wish. We can even get you some knew furniture if you'd like. We'll get you some new clothes and anything else you might need or want, okay?"

"Do I get to come, too?" Mokuba asked excitedly. At Seto's nod, he ran from the room, saying that he was going to tell the maids to start clearing out the room.

"What do you say, Pup?"

"I don't want you to buy me things as a way to apologize," Joey answered softly.

Seto sighed. "Then what do you want me to do?" he asked helplessly.

"I want you to ask me to forgive you," the blond stated seriously.

The CEO thought it was an odd request, but he gave in. "Do you forgive me, Puppy?"

Seto was pleasantly surprised when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and a blond head rest on his shoulder. "I forgive you," came the barely audible whisper.

Returning the hug, Seto smiled gently when he felt his Puppy tighten his grip. "Thank you, Pup."

"You're welcome."

They wished they could stay like this forever.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	7. Thursday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 7 – Thursday**

Joey still wasn't sure what to expect today as he got ready in Seto's bathroom for their day out at the mall. Mokuba would also be coming along. As if it weren't bad enough that Seto was giving him a make-over, the little imp had to be there, too.

Smoothing out his hair, Joey stared at himself in the mirror. It amazed him how something as simple as a little haircut could make him look so different. He almost didn't even recognize himself.

A knock soon interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in," Joey said, still observing himself in the mirror.

"Hey, Pup. I just wanted to say that you should probably shave, too," announced Seto from the doorway.

Joey stared at Seto from the reflection in the mirror, his eyebrows shooting up into his hairline. Spinning around, he exclaimed, "Shave? What do you mean by shave?" Knowing Seto, this would not be good for him.

The familiar, devilish smirk crossed Seto's features as he eyed Joey's figure up and down. "You know, the usual places. Your _legs _especially."

Joey gulped as he backed himself into the sink while the brunet gradually approached him. "And why would I do that?"

"Because I want you to be all silky smooth when you slip into the new clothes I have planned out for you. Okay, Puppy?"

Said Puppy nodded mutely, and when Seto finally left the bathroom, the blond let out a huge sigh of relief. Thank goodness the CEO hadn't decided to stay and _watch _him shave, because, to be honest, he didn't want him to find out that he already…shaved.

Joey swore he wouldn't like the look on Seto's face if he discovered that tiny bit of information. He could say goodbye to his innocence, that's for sure.

But then a new thought crossed his mind.

Just what the hell was he trying on that he needed to shave for? This was not a good sign.

* * *

Domino Mall. Originally, Joey had thought he'd loved this place, but after seeing a very weird look in Seto's eyes—and not to mention the packet of tissues the CEO thought he had cleverly hidden in his trench coat—Joey now discovered that he hated it.

As he, Seto, and Mokuba entered the mall, what Joey saw as the beginning of a nightmare now turned into a full blown horror flick.

"Mokuba, here's some money. I don't want to see you until later, okay? Have fun," said Seto spontaneously.

Mokuba didn't have to hear that twice. He took the money from his brother and skipped—er, scampered—down the mall into regions unknown.

"Why'd you send him away?" asked Joey, a whole new wave of nervousness hitting him.

Seto placed an arm around the blond's waist, leading him into a quite fashionable clothing store. "Because I want to spend some time _alone_ with my Puppy," he answered.

Blushing furiously at the comment, Joey kept his eyes to the floor.

"What's the matter, Puppy?" inquired Seto, concern lacing his voice. He did not like it when Joey got all quiet and distant. In fact, he despised it.

"Why are you doing this? Really?" questioned Joey, his eyes boring holes into Seto's.

"I thought I told you already. I really like you."

"Prove it."

Prove it? His Puppy wanted him to prove it? Here?

Joey inwardly smiled when he noticed a light blush staining the brunet's cheeks. Well, that was enough proof for him right now, but then again, whatever inappropriate thoughts the CEO was now having might not be a good idea.

"So, what did you want me to try on?" Joey's voice seemed to break through Seto's obvious daydream.

Smirking, Seto pushed him into the clothing store.

And left him there.

Just where the hell did he disappear to? But a few minutes later, Seto returned and quickly ushered him into a fitting room.

"What the—" Joey cut himself off when he saw what Seto had laid out for him. "No! Absolutely not! I am not putting that on!" he screamed, pounding on the door.

"Yes you are," Seto said from the other side of the door. "Otherwise I'll come in there and make you."

Glaring furiously at the door, Joey whipped his head around and heatedly approached the clothes. "Fuck."

Discarding his shoes, the blond pulled off his pants and grabbed the…black leather pants. _Tight_ black leather pants. It was official. Joey would kill him.

After a few minutes of struggling with the pants, he understood why Seto had said to shave. But as he got the pants past his thighs, he realized that these pants would _not _work with his boxers.

"Seto? These pants aren't going to work."

"Why not?"

"My boxers are in the way," replied Joey, fidgeting.

"Then take them off."

Joey's eyes widened as he stared at the door. It was almost as if he could feel Seto's eyes on him, but that was impossible, right? Right?

"But—"

"Just take off your boxers and put the pants back on. I promise you, no one's looking. And if anyone does, I'll kill them."

At this point, Joey actually believed he would, if that possessive tone was any indication.

Taking the pants back off, he removed his boxers, blushing all the while, and pulled the pants back on. They fit _much _better this time. And when he looked in the mirror, he took note that the pants fit him almost too perfectly. If he didn't know any better, he would have said that Seto specifically picked out these pants so that he could gawk at his ass.

"Stupid bastard," Joey muttered under his breath as he took off his shirt.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

Next, Joey picked up the shirt. Out of anything Seto could have picked, the brunet had chosen a blue silk shirt that matched his eyes. It was…beautiful. And to wear something that matched Seto's eyes made his heart flutter.

Smiling, Joey slipped on the shirt and buttoned it. The silk felt great against his him, although the shirt was a bit snug. It hugged his body like a second skin.

Admiring himself for a moment or two, Joey then put on the black boots Seto had left for him. When that was done, he felt ready to come out.

Or so he hoped. He wasn't quite sure what Seto would do once he stepped through that door. Perhaps he would be safer inside the fitting room.

"Are you finished, Puppy?"

"Um…yeah, I'm done. Do you want me to come out now?"

"No, I'll come in," Seto said quickly, opening the door just as suddenly as he stepped inside.

They stared at each other for a minute in complete silence…then Seto shut the door. Joey started freaking out at that point.

"What are you doing?" Joey asked frantically when Seto reached him. He flipped out even more when Seto took his hands gently in his.

"You look very beautiful, Puppy," he said seriously. "Very beautiful."

The blush was back full force now. Joey could swear his face was on fire. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Do you like your outfit?" Seto asked hesitantly.

"I…guess. I really like the shirt."

"I picked out other things for you already. Different colors and such. I know your sizes, so I picked out everything you might need. And comfort clothes. Because I know you won't want to wear stuff like this all the time," Seto said hurriedly.

Joey wasn't sure what to make of 'unsure Seto.' It was kind of cute, though, hearing Seto ramble like that.

"Has anyone ever told you you're sweet?" Joey asked innocently.

Now Seto was blushing. "No!" he sputtered.

"Well, you are." And Joey stood on his tiptoes and planted a light kiss on the CEO's nose. "And I'm sure everything you've picked out will be fine," he continued, taking Seto's hand and leading him out of the fitting room.

Tightening his grip on Joey's hand, they walked out of the store. "I took the liberty of paying for everything already, so it's already been sent…home."

Home. The word echoed in Joey's mind. The Kaiba Mansion was…his home?

"Hey. We can pick out things for your new room now," Seto offered when Joey got quiet again.

The blond shook his head. "I don't want my own room."

Well, this was new. "Why, Puppy?"

"I…don't want to be alone."

"But you're not alone. My room is right next to yours," Seto explained.

"That's not what I mean," Joey replied, shaking his head again.

Thinking this might take a bit more explaining, he headed for a bench near the fountain in the center of the mall. After they sat down, he continued.

"I don't like waking up alone, especially after I've…"

"After you've what?"

"After I've had a nightmare. I felt like I was going to have a panic attack when I woke up the other morning when you weren't there," Joey finished quietly. He was afraid of what Seto might say. Would he push him away and call him needy or something?

Seto didn't realize how much Joey's past affected him until that moment. There was a lot still going on inside his Puppy's head, and apparently he would need to talk about it in order for him to move on.

Taking Joey's hand in his, he stroked it reassuringly. "Then you can stay in my room for as long as you like. We'll just take things one step at a time. And Puppy, I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything. I don't want to see you hurt anymore. I care about you too much for that."

It seemed like the mood between then shifted from gloomy to…loving. Joey inhaled sharply when Seto leaned across the table, his lips mere inches from his own. Their breaths mingled and they could feel the pounding of each other's hearts.

This was it. Their first _real _kiss. All Joey had to do was lean in and—

"Kaiba?"

They broke away from each other when they heard a familiar combination of voices thrown their way. Looking in the direction of the sound, Joey paled slightly when he saw some of his friends: Yugi, Yami, Tristan, Duke, and Tea.

Rising from his seat, with Seto following closely behind, they watched as the gang gawked at them.

"Kaiba? Are you…_dating _someone?" Yami asked suddenly.

Joey's brows knitted in confusion.

Yugi elbowed Yami in the stomach, trying to clarify what Yami meant. "What he means to say is…who's your friend?"

"My…friend?" Seto echoed slowly.

"Yeah, who is he? I don't think I've seen him before," added Tristan.

"Definitely. I think I'd remember a hunk—I mean, a guy like that," stated Tea sheepishly.

"He's…not my friend," Seto started slowly, eyeing them suspiciously.

Joey felt his heart plummet at this.

"Then I suppose you don't mind if I keep him company for a bit," said Duke, walking up to Joey. "What do you say?"

Joey found himself gaping like a fish. Duke was coming onto him. And his friends didn't recognize him? Wow, Seto really did a good job at this whole make-over thing.

"Leave him alone, Duke," said Tristan. Joey praised Tristan for his interference. "He's probably nothing but a sissy boy anyway."

That was the last thing Seto needed to hear. When he saw the pained expression on his Puppy's face, he saw red.

Seto practically threw Duke away from Joey, knocking him into Tristan. When it looked like the brunet was going to do more, Joey placed his hands on his chest to stop him.

"What happened to your wrist?" Yugi gasped, worry for the imminent beating of his friends shifting to the blond before him.

"He broke it," Seto ground out, his anger subsiding as he took Joey's casted wrist in hand. "And I suggest you leave the both of us alone."

"And why is that?" inquired Duke. "You said he wasn't your friend."

Seto glared at them, but then smirked. "No, he's my boyfriend. Now get lost before I have security come after you."

The gang bolted for the other end of the mall, leaving Seto and Joey in peace.

"Are you all right, Puppy?"

"Yeah, it's just…I didn't know they could be like that," answered Joey, reflecting on the attitudes his friends had shown. Did they really despise Seto that much that they would use any opportunity they had to insult him and the people he associated himself with?

"Did you mean it? When you called me your boyfriend, did you mean it?" Joey asked hopefully.

"I mean it, Puppy, but only if you want to be my boyfriend. It's not like I asked you or anything," replied Seto.

"I'd really like that, Seto," Joey stated happily as he hugged the smiling brunet. "Can we go home now?"

"Sure." Seto was glad for the suggestion. He really wanted some alone time with his Puppy, preferably in private.

As they headed out of the mall, Joey was suddenly jolted back into its direction. "What're you—"

"Mokuba. I forgot Mokuba."

* * *

**End Chapter**


	8. 2nd Friday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 8 – Friday**

Seto stared down at the sleeping form of his Puppy. It was early morning, much too early, in fact, to wake the tired blond. But, it wasn't like they were currently on the best of terms either. At least now, anyway.

All Seto had wanted was to spend some time alone with his Puppy—in private! Was that too much to ask? Apparently it was.

After they'd found Mokuba, and the small boy had gotten over his laughing fit after seeing Joey and hearing what had happened with Joey's friends, they'd returned home.

Then the blond had gotten distracted…_very_ distracted. All of the clothes and things he'd bought for his Puppy had arrived at the mansion, so Joey had been too busy to spend any time with him at all. He'd been too excited to see what he'd gotten.

But that was when things got a bit weird. Joey was thrilled by receiving so many new clothes, but when he saw that Seto had bought him…more personal items—like boxers—he'd been a bit embarrassed; albeit an understatement.

Joey had gracefully declined receiving such intimate gifts, saying that he'd rather pick those sorts of things out himself. Other than that, he was pleased that the CEO had been so thoughtful in picking out his clothes; he'd purchased formal as well as casual wear.

Soon after Joey had made this statement, he'd encountered another pair of boxers, but these were far from thoughtful in his opinion. Although Seto had only meant them as a joke, Joey had taken it quite seriously—a bit too seriously, which then led to angering his Puppy to the point of him wanting nothing to do with the CEO.

Seto felt like he couldn't win. But he'd be damned if he didn't get to spend any quality time with him. Perhaps, in an attempt to get to know Joey better, he'd ask him what he'd like to do today, and it would just be the two of them. And maybe, just maybe, he could find the right time to actually kiss him. On the lips and everything.

Yes. Seto liked that idea _very_ much.

Joey suddenly turned onto his side. His Puppy was now facing him, looking absolutely adorable with his cute, pouting lips that were just begging to be ravaged. Oh, how tempting it was. Seto felt the urge to claim those succulent lips as his own, to make them his, to let everyone know that Joey was his…and his alone.

Seto leaned in closer to Joey, his lips barely an inch away from him. It would be so easy to initiate the kiss. Too easy. But if he did so, what would Joey's reaction be? His Puppy _did _want to kiss him, too, didn't he?

Joey sighed, opening his eyes and—

"Fuck!" the blond yelped, pushing the brunet away from him. His heart pounding, he stared incredulously at the startled CEO. Why the hell had he been so close? "What the fuck were you doing?"

"Nothing," Seto stuttered in response. "Just thinking."

"About what?" What could the brunet have been so lost in thought about that it would make him be so close—

Seto barely had time to duck when Joey launched a pillow at him.

"What was that for?" exclaimed the brunet.

"What did you do to me? Did you do something? Did you kiss me? I swear, if you stole my first kiss while I was sleeping, I'll—" Joey clasped his hands over his mouth, realizing what he'd just let slip. Seto was going to think him a prude or something, make fun of him, laugh—

LOOK AT HIM WITH LUST FILLED EYES?

"Stay away from me," Joey warned as he backed away from the lusting CEO.

"And why should I do that?" Seto smirked, crawling closer to the nervous blond. Then he pounced, pinning his Puppy beneath him on the bed. "Come on, Puppy. Tell me why I should stay away from you."

Joey struggled to come up with an answer. And when he thought of one, he inwardly smirked. "Because I haven't forgiven you for what you did yesterday," he replied seriously.

All play and mischief left the brunet's face, only to be replaced by a pallid expression. "I said I was sorry, Puppy. I meant it as a joke."

"Well, I'm sorry if I didn't think boxers with golden retriever puppies on them was funny," Joey snapped, wriggling himself free from Seto's entrapment.

The CEO let him. "Puppy, I really am sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?" Seto didn't like it when he didn't know what to do. Joey was different than anyone else he'd ever met. Gifts didn't cut it when apologizing. His Puppy wanted more, but Seto was unsure what that was.

Joey observed Seto's somber yet honest expression. Perhaps he'd taken this little guilt-trip a bit too far. Mulling things over a bit, the blond came up with an idea that would make the both of them happy, or so he hoped.

"Let's go on a date," Joey said.

"A date?" Seto hadn't really expected to hear that from the blond. "Okay. What do you want to do?"

"I get to choose?" Joey asked in wonder. He half expected Seto to take charge and do something elaborate, but if he got to decide then things might take an interesting turn.

"What would you like to do, Puppy?"

"Um, can we go…well, you see, I've never been there before, but I've always wanted to go. But none of my friends are into that sort of thing and I've never had the money to—"

"Just spit it out already," quipped the brunet.

"All right. Can we go to the Domino Art Museum?"

Seto's eyes widened in surprise. Art? His Puppy liked art? Well, that was interesting news. "We can go."

Joey launched himself at Seto, hugging him tightly when he heard the answer. "Yes! Thank you so much! Oh! And…can we go _without_ Mokuba? I just don't think he'd be into this sort of thing and I really don't want to hear him sighing and grumbling that he's bored when I'm trying to enjoy myself. It kind of ruins the mood."

"We'll go without Mokuba. It _is_ a date, after all," Seto said suspiciously. "But since when are you interested in art?"

"I've always liked art. I've drawn and painted things for as long as I can remember," Joey replied quietly. "I love it."

Seto didn't want to sound harsh, but he didn't know any other way to phrase his question. "Are you any good?"

Joey took no offense to the question. "My art teacher says I am. Right now, we're doing landscapes and I've painted a pleasant scene of a sunset at the beach. It's in water color, too."

The CEO really enjoyed seeing his Puppy's eyes light up at the prospect of discussing art. This would be fun. "Do you have any work with you that I can see?"

"No. I keep everything locked up in the art room. If I kept it at home, my dad would…" Joey silenced himself, averting his eyes from the brunet.

Seto sighed. Joey still wasn't ready to talk about what his home life had been like, but they were going to have to talk about it sooner or later if he was ever going to move on and put it in the past.

"I didn't mean to make you dwell on bad thoughts, Pup. That wasn't my intention. I just really want to see your work. I haven't seen you this passionate about something youcan _do_ before, so I took interest."

Joey gave him a weak smile and rose from the bed. "It's okay. How about we get ready?"

Seto nodded in compliance. "And I'll go give Mokuba the news. He can stay home all day playing video games for all I care," Joey heard him grumble. There was something about 'being alone,' 'private time,' and 'kissing sweet puppies,' but Joey wasn't sure he heard him right.

Heading for the bathroom, the blond decided that he'd get ready for their _date_, taking special care to look especially presentable.

* * *

"Pup?" Seto called from the foyer. "Aren't you ready yet?" Seriously, how long did it take to get ready? It was like Joey was a girl or something.

"I'm coming," the blond answered back loudly.

Seto had to stifle a groan when a flash of Joey saying that in a completely different situation came unbidden in his mind.

"Okay, I'm ready."

Willing away his naughty thoughts, Seto turned to scold his Puppy for taking so long. But he soon choked on his words when he saw what the blond was wearing.

Joey was dressed in casual khaki pants that fit him nicely, with brown leather dress shoes, and a light green button-up dress shirt. His hair looked more golden than it had before; it had a stunning shine and would look absolutely fantastic in the sun. The light blush dusting his Puppy's cheeks also made him look delightfully…scrumptious.

"Is this okay? Should I change? Because I'm not used to picking out what to wear for what occasion and—"

"You look fine, Puppy. I like it. You picked this out yourself?"

"Yeah," Joey answered sheepishly. "So it's okay?"

Seto nodded, taking the blond by the hand and leading him out of the mansion for their date.

* * *

Seto was finding it hard to keep his excited Puppy under control and gawkers at bay. Sure, he was used to being stared at by other people, but he wasn't used to people staring at Joey with lust-filled eyes—from both women and men.

It made him angry. And he didn't like it when he was angry. And he didn't like it when other people looked at his Puppy. And he especially didn't like it when his Puppy made people look at him unknowingly.

"Ooh, Seto! Look at this one!" Joey exclaimed, dragging him over to a stunning portrait of Domino at nighttime.

"That's stunning," Seto replied honestly. He really was enjoying himself, but he thought he would enjoy it more if people didn't stop to stare every two seconds. He hated all the attention, but Joey seemed completely oblivious to it.

"Just ignore them, Seto," the blond said, taking the brunet's hand in his, eyes still glued to the painting.

"Huh?"

"I know people are staring at us, but you just need to ignore them. I don't care what they think and neither should you. I'm all yours. The sooner people get that through their heads, the better. But for now, just be content with the fact that I am completely and utterly devoted to you," explained Joey, giving the pale hand in his own a reassuring squeeze.

If they'd been in private, Seto would have tackled him to the ground and made out with him on the spot, but considering they were in a public place—with onlookers and possibly security cameras—Joey probably wouldn't appreciate the thanks.

"I'm sorry, Pup. I just—"

"You don't like all the attention. I know. Besides, the only attention you _should _like is Mokuba's and mine."

"When did you get so smart?" Seto asked amusedly.

"Whoever said I wasn't? Just because I may not show it, doesn't mean I'm not," Joey answered, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

When Seto just looked at him with confusion in his eyes, he laughed and started leading the puzzled CEO out of the museum.

"Let's grab some lunch or something."

Seto nodded mutely as he let himself get dragged to wherever his Puppy was leading him. It was then that the CEO realized that Joey was a lot smarter than he'd given him credit for. He was quite observant, kind, generous, modest to a degree, humble, and highly intelligent. Why hadn't he noticed that before? Was Joey gradually starting to open up to him because he was starting to trust him? Did he hide everything like he himself did?

"Come on, slowpoke. I'm hungry," Joey whined. "Can we get a burger or something? There's a small café over there. Can we go?"

"Sure."

Soon they were seated in a cute little café. Although it was quite small and comfortable, it didn't seem busy, and it appeared to be the right place to spend some time together and perhaps…ask a few needed questions.

After they'd placed their orders, Seto began. "What did you mean back there?"

With downcast eyes, Joey smiled ruefully and sighed. "I'm very good at hiding myself from people. You would know what that's like better than anyone. With everything I've gone through, it was just easier to act like an idiot without a care in the world. I never saw the point in being myself if I was always being criticized."

"Do you feel like you can be yourself around _me_?" Seto asked sincerely. He wanted to know how much of his Puppy was fake and how much was real.

"May I ask you a question first?"

"Go ahead."

"If you got to know the real me, would you still like me? Are you willing to give that a chance? Because I…I won't be mad if you want to back out of a relationship with me."

Seto hid a smile at Joey's cautious attitude. "Oh, Puppy. If I got to know the real you, then I think I would just fall even more in love with you."

Had Joey been standing, he knew his legs would have given way. Seto thought that he would fall even more in love with him? But…he felt that he'd been impersonating someone else—someone who wasn't him—for so long that he didn't really know who he was anymore. Everything he loved had been abruptly snatched from him, leaving him with only snippets of his true self.

"Then we'll give it a try."

Seto smiled openly this time. "I'm glad. So does this mean my teaching you proper speech was a waste of time?"

Joey smiled meekly at him. "Yeah. It was fun though."

"But you could have seen me naked," Seto hissed. "Why'd you screw up saying 'something' if you could already say it?"

"I chickened out. I was beating myself up for tricking you and I thought it…unjust to deceive you in such a way. Besides, if all goes well in this relationship, I may see you naked yet."

Seto found himself really liking this real Joey. They could have extremely intelligent conversations, and who knew what the blond's talents were. And his Puppy still had a feisty, aggressive attitude along with being innocent and cute at the same time.

"You just might, Puppy. But don't think I'll be the only one who's naked," replied Seto with a wink.

"Ooh, look! The food's here!" Joey exclaimed, fighting the blush that consumed his entire face. He had hoped to distract Seto with food, but apparently that only worked on him.

"What do you think your friends would do if you started acting like your real self?" Seto asked seriously.

The fry that Joey had been bringing to his mouth dropped to his plate. "I…I don't know. I've been acting the way I have for so long, it'll be hard to break old habits. And if I do act like me, I don't know how they'll respond."

"They're your friends. Why should they treat you any differently?"

"They act one way when I'm around and an entirely different way when I'm not. 'Know that in the course of your future life you will often find yourself elected the involuntary confidant of your acquaintances' secrets: people will instinctively find out, as I have done, that it is not your forte to tell of yourself, but to listen while others talk of themselves; they will feel, too, that you listen with no malevolent scorn of their indiscretion, but with a kind of innate sympathy, not the less comforting and encouraging because it is very unobtrusive in its manifestations.' That's how they see me."

Seto was incredibly delighted. "That's a quote from _Jane Eyre_. So I take it that you enjoy reading as well?"

"I'm fond of the classics, yes," answered Joey. "But my friends do confide in me all the time. I dare not tell them anything of my life, though…or what I'm really like. I feel like they'd see me as…judgmental then, even though I'm not."

"Puppy, you might not like hearing this, but I'm going to say it anyway. Friends are only true friends if they accept you for who you are. Confiding in one another goes both ways, not just one. If they can't accept all the facets of your persona, then they don't deserve to be your friends. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," replied Joey, playing with his food. "But how would I know that they're truly liking me for me and not just liking me for who they were friends with before?"

Seto sighed. That was a tough question. If he told his friends the truth, they might just be friends with the _idea_ of Joey rather than being friends _with_ him. But how would he know the truth?

"I have an idea. I'm not exactly proud of the thought, but it'll let me know the truth."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well, the gang always hangs out at the Game Shop on Saturdays. What if we stop by? I'll act like the real me, being your boyfriend and all, and I'll pretend I don't know anyone. I can come up with a fake name and everything. Then we'll see if they make friends with me."

"It sounds like a plan. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'm sure. And it will let me know if they'll accept me even if I associate myself with you. If they don't…you, Mokuba, and my sister are all I really need. You three are the closest to a real family I've ever had. And I wouldn't give that up for anything…even my friends."

Seto took Joey's hand, raised it to his lips, and kissed it gently. "Then that's exactly what we'll do, because I'm not giving you up, especially not to your friends. I consider you a big part of my life…and my family. I'll never let you go."

* * *

**End Chapter**


	9. 2nd Saturday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 9 – Saturday**

"Hey, Pup? Before we go and trick your friends, may I ask you a few things?" implored Seto as he finished buttoning up his shirt.

"Um, okay. Ask away," replied Joey, somewhat puzzled by his tone.

Now, how was he going to phrase this? "Were you just…pretending to believe in the whole alien thing? Because I honestly don't get it."

The blush on Joey's face was answer enough. "Just because I may be a bit smart does _not _mean I'm fucking Sherlock Holmes! Honestly, if you'd been in my shoes, you would have thought the same exact thing! Plus…aliens kind of freak me out anyway. How can we be the only living beings in existence with such a vast universe?"

Seto just smirked at his Puppy's response. So, his Puppy was smart, but still had his little gullible, naïve moments. That was good to know. He liked the goofball side of Joey, too.

"Anything else ya wanna know, Mr. CEO?"

Seto frowned. Joey had lapsed into his old dialect. Or was it new? "Why are you talking like that again?"

"Huh? Oh. Sorry about that. Sometimes I just…I've been playing the fool for so long that it feels like it's sort of…become me. I trained myself to act and think that way. By continuously doing something, it becomes a habit. And it's hard to break. In order to act the way I did, I had to think it, feel it, and eventually become it. It will take some time before I can…get rid it."

"I understand," Seto said after some thought. "But you _do _know that I want you to talk to me about your old life, right?"

"Why? There's nothing I want to talk about."

"You may not want to talk about it, but you need to. How else do you think you're going to stop having nightmares?"

Joey paused and looked down at the floor. "It's not that I don't want to talk about it. It's just…"

"It's hard for you to dwell on those memories."

When Joey nodded, Seto stepped over to him and gave him a hug. "Just…don't push this. Everything's is all so new and…we've only been together a week. I don't want to fight about this. Just give me time. I promise I'll talk to you when I'm ready."

"Okay, Puppy," Seto sighed. "Can I kiss you?"

Joey pulled away from him, his eyebrow raised. "You really do know how to ruin the mood, don't you?"

"What? I've been waiting to kiss you forever! I'm getting really ticked that we keep being interrupted!" Seto exclaimed, growing flustered.

"Well, with that kind of attitude, you're just going to have to wait a little longer," replied Joey, moving away from him and out the door. "Are you coming or not?"

Cursing under his breath, the frustrated brunet burst through the door. Perhaps he could vent his anger elsewhere. Like on Joey's friends.

* * *

"Are you still sure you want to do this, Puppy?" asked Seto as they both stood outside the Game Shop.

"Absolutely," answered Joey, but he sure didn't look like he was.

"Everything will be fine. Just play your part and we'll see what happens. When you want to leave, just say the word and we're gone," Seto said encouragingly.

Nodding ever so slightly, Joey opened the door to the Game Shop. The _ping _from the door let everyone inside know of their arrival, and what a reception it was.

"What are you doing here, Kaiba?" Yami demanded almost immediately. Apparently, the fact that Joey was standing there went over the former pharaoh's head.

"It's a public store. Why else would I be here?" Seto snapped, guiding Joey in front of him.

The blond noticed that practically all his friends were there. Yami, Yugi, Tea, Tristan, Duke, Ryou, and Bakura.

_This is going to be a lot of fun_, Joey thought sarcastically.

"Hi."

Joey looked down, only to see Yugi standing mere inches from him.

"Hello," the blond replied in his old dialect-free manner.

"We weren't properly introduced before. I'm Yugi," he said, offering Joey his hand.

The blond took it eagerly. "I'm Katsuya. Who are your friends?" he inquired sweetly.

"Oh! That's Yami, Tristan, Tea, Duke, Ryou, and Bakura!" Yugi exclaimed excitedly.

Joey looked them over. "It's nice to meet all of you."

The rest of them seemed indifferent, but Bakura just narrowed his eyes contemplatively.

It was Seto's clearing of his throat that drew the attention of the others. Everyone seemed to freeze in his presence, giving him evil glares and such. So Joey decided that he should break the ice; it was becoming quite frigid.

"This is my boyfriend, Seto Kaiba," Joey stated cheerfully.

"How much did he pay you to say that?" quipped Tristan.

Joey's demeanor changed in an instant, much to the surprise of everyone there. "Tristan, was it? Do you have a problem with me? Because I can assure you that I have no ill feelings toward you," he stated in an astonishingly calm manner.

This response shocked Tristan somewhat, and it took him a while to respond. "I just can't imagine why anyone would want to befriend that bastard, let alone be his boyfriend."

"And how well do you think you know him?" asked Joey.

"He's a jerk to us!" Duke exclaimed.

"He always insults us," added Tea defiantly.

"I'm not sure _you_ know him," said Yami, directing his comment to Joey. "How long have the two of you been…dating, anyway?"

Joey crossed his arms. "About a week."

Tristan burst out laughing. "You guys have only been at it a week? So you're just in it for the money?"

Joey balked. "I came in here with the intent of becoming friends with all of you. Would you judge me so quickly because Seto is my boyfriend? You don't even know me."

"When you're with Kaiba, you're probably no good," said Duke.

"Then what about his brother…Mokuba?" Joey questioned, his voice becoming quieter.

"I like him," Yugi butted in, trying to be the appeasing one.

"Yeah, but he's still Kaiba's brother. And with him raising him, he'll probably still turn out to be like Kaiba," argued Tristan.

Joey felt himself growing more and more distant. These were his friends. They didn't like him because he was with Seto? And they didn't care much for Mokuba either? Sure, Yugi was friendly, but he was friendly to everyone.

Seto watched as his Puppy grew upset. He knew he shouldn't have let Joey do this, but he had insisted. His eyes softened slightly, and he took the blond's hand in his own to comfort him.

No one noticed this brief exchange other than Bakura, and he put two and two together. Ryou happened to notice Bakura tense and wondered what had made him react that way. When he looked in Bakura's eyes, he knew something was up.

"How can you be so harsh?" Joey asked quietly, his confidence in his friends slipping.

"We're harsh? Who you're dating is harsh," exclaimed Yami.

"No," Joey began defiantly. It almost seemed as if he wasn't really there anymore, like he was lost in his thoughts, talking to himself rather than them. "He's nice to me. He's helped me."

"Yami, stop it," begged Yugi.

"Why? He should know the truth. Kaiba is the type of person who uses people. But I see now that you'd rather be used by him than be friends with us," continued Yami.

"So let me get this straight," snapped Joey suddenly. "You would only be my friends if I had nothing to do with Seto?"

"You hit the nail right on the head," said Tristan.

"But…what if one of your friends befriended him? What would you do then?" Joey asked, trying to reason with them.

"Think they're on drugs," mumbled Tristan.

Tea elbowed him in the stomach. "That just wouldn't happen. And besides, if it did, we would probably do everything that we could to make our friend see that they're being…deceived," she said.

"And if your friend wouldn't listen?"

"Then they probably wouldn't be our friend for very much longer, I suppose," answered Yami. "You must understand that Kaiba is not someone you should associate yourself with. He'll only bring you a great deal of pain."

"No…you are," Joey said, fighting back tears, but everyone could see the sobs that threatened to wrack his body.

"We're going," Seto said suddenly, leading Joey out the door. When he saw that the blond was safely outside, he turned and glared at the gang. "You have _no _right to speak to him that way. Not after what he's been through. You didn't even…" He paused as an idea came to his head. "Where's the Mutt?"

"Not here," said Tristan.

"Do you even know _where _he is? Or even if he's okay?" inquired Seto. When he received no answer, he continued. "He could be beaten to a pulp in some alleyway and you're all here. Have you even tried to locate him? Some friends you are."

And with that, Seto left the shop, slamming the door closed in the process.

Everyone inside the shop remained silent for a while, but it was Bakura who broke the silence.

"All of you are fucking idiots," Bakura snapped, drawing them out of their stupor. "That was Joey."

"Huh? But he said his name was Katsuya," said Yugi.

"Joey's my best bud. He didn't look or even sound like him," stated Tristan.

"Oh, really. Then go find him and ask him yourself. Come, Ryou. We're leaving," said Bakura, leaving the Game Shop, too.

Ryou stumbled after him. "That really _was_ Joey, wasn't it?"

"Yes. But there's still something that's bothering me."

"What's that?"

"What has he been through that Kaiba apparently helped him with?"

* * *

"Eat your ice cream. It'll make you feel better," said Seto.

He and Joey were sitting in a small café. After the blond had completely broken down in his arms, they'd done a little shopping, and settled down in the café to cheer his Puppy up.

"Okay," Joey said listlessly, staring at his ice cream.

"I got you something."

Joey's head perked up. "When?"

"I…actually got it for you yesterday. I was going to give it to you, but then we'd been so engrossed in talking that I forgot about it."

"What is it?" Joey sniffed.

"It's back at the mansion. Do you want to go home now?"

Joey sighed halfheartedly. "Sure."

* * *

As soon as they'd reached the mansion, Joey was feeling a bit better, even though he'd lost almost all of his friends. He still believed he would have Yugi on his side no matter what, but if he had to choose between him and Yami, Yugi would probably pick the latter.

"So what's this surprise?"

Seto smiled and led him to the living room. "Wait here."

Joey plopped himself on the couch and stared at the wall listlessly. Even if he did lose all of his friends, he still had Seto…and Mokuba…and his sister. That's all he really needed, right?

"Okay, Pup. Close your eyes."

The blond did so. "I swear if I feel your lips on mine, you're getting a black eye."

"Wouldn't think of it, Pup," Seto chuckled.

Soon, Joey heard something placed before him.

"Open your eyes."

Joey did. "Why did you tell me to close my eyes if my gift is in a gift bag?"

Seto's expression turned blank. "Shut up and open your gift," he replied, sitting next to Joey.

Leaning forward, Joey reached into the bag and pulled out a heavy wooden box, elaborately decorated. It was an art kit. It had paints, pencils, oils, and everything he could possibly ever need.

"There's more, Puppy."

And there was. Paint brush sets, an easel, canvases, sketchbooks.

"Thank you so much, Seto!" Joey said through his tears, but these were happy ones now.

"You're welcome."

Joey put everything back in the bag and turned toward Seto. "I think I'd like my kiss now."

Seto didn't have to hear that twice. He pulled the blond onto his lap, wrapping his arms around his waist. Joey leaned down, and when their lips met for the first time, it was complete bliss.

After what seemed like a few minutes of clumsy kissing, Seto grew bolder and nibbled Joey's bottom lip, eliciting a gasp from his Puppy. Not taking any chances, he slipped his tongue into the blond's mouth, consequences be damned.

Joey melted in his arms as Seto mapped out the contours of his mouth, drawing a delightful moan from him in the process.

When they finally pulled away because the need for air was too great, they stared at each other.

"I love you," Seto said softly.

"What?" gasped Joey.

Seto then realized what he'd said, and he'd said it out loud. His Puppy wasn't ready for that kind of confession yet. "I didn't mean it," he said quickly. "I like you, though. I really like you."

"You like me."

"Yes. Very much," replied Seto, getting ready to pull Joey down for another kiss, but the blond pulled away.

"I need to get you your gift. It's upstairs, so wait right here," said Joey as he wandered off.

Seto leaned back on the couch, arguing with himself over his little mishap. He didn't even give Joey time to answer. What kind of a person was he to just blurt out that he loved him and just…take it back as if it had never happened? He was an idiot!

"I'm back, Seto," said Joey. "I was going to wear this when we went to bed tonight." He handed over a small gift bag to the brunet.

Seto took the gift bag and peeked inside. "But there's nothing in here."

"Exactly," Joey replied with a smirk as he sauntered away sexily. "Now suffer."

* * *

**End Chapter**


	10. 2nd Sunday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 10 – Sunday**

Joey bolted from the bed, panting heavily. It felt as if his lungs were on fire. Placing a shaking hand to his chest, he tried to calm his breathing, but it did nothing for his trembling body.

He'd had another nightmare. And this one seemed to be the worst of all. He'd dreamt that everyone had left him: his friends had all abandoned him, his sister and mother had deserted him, and…Seto had left him—kicked him out and left him—along with Mokuba.

Joey had literally felt his heart break, and the darkness started to surround him, mocking him, emphasizing that he was completely and utterly alone. But then something else happened, to make it all that much worse.

His father had come to him through the darkness. With an evil smirk on his face, he'd said that Joey was all his now, to do with as he pleased. No one wanted him anymore, so he might as well make himself useful and stay with him.

Joey had cowered in fear, even though it was just a dream. But that dream had brought his deepest fears to light.

And now here he was, sitting in Seto's bed…alone all over again. Biting back a sob, Joey pulled his knees to his chest. He wanted Seto. He needed Seto. Back after the way he'd treated him yesterday—after Seto had said he loved him and took it back—the blond had felt nothing but the need to hurt him in some way.

But it wasn't Seto's fault. The brunet had done nothing but help him. Joey knew that Seto really did love him, but he was hesitant to admit it. So what did he do? Instead of being considerate to the CEO's feelings, he'd hurt him.

Joey felt panic seize him once more at the thought of Seto really leaving him. Moving off of the bed, he stumbled toward the bathroom. As he made it to the sink, he gazed at his reflection. He looked…lost.

Splashing a bit of water on his face, he sat down on the cold floor of the bathroom and pulled his knees up to his chest again, rocking himself back and forth.

How was he going to make things right again?

* * *

Seto paced his office, thinking. What was he going to do about Joey? Sure, he'd hurt his Puppy by saying he loved him and taking it back, but later on, when he'd tried to apologize, especially after the whole gift incident, the blond had just brushed him off. He wouldn't even talk to him!

And even though he believed he was at fault, Seto couldn't help but feel hurt, too. It wasn't like his Puppy had even tried to admit anything to him. Did the blond love him? Or was he just…using him?

Frowning, he pinched the bridge of his nose. The only way he was going to know anything was if he actually spoke to Joey. They needed to have long conversation; it was well overdue.

Pleased with his decision, Seto slipped out of his office and down the hall to his bedroom. When he opened the door, however, his Puppy was nowhere to be seen. Upon further inspection, he noticed that the bathroom door was ajar, but it was still too quiet for his liking.

As he reached the bathroom door, he pushed it the rest of the way open and peered inside. What he saw tore at his heart. Joey sat on the floor, knees drawn up to his chest, and he seemed to stare vacantly at the wall before him. Seto noticed him trembling slightly, and it looked as if he'd been crying.

"Joey?" Seto called hesitantly as he approached the blond. "Joey?"

The blond's head shot up, as if he were startled, and tears started streaming down his face again. "I'm sorry," he gasped. "I'm so, so sorry."

Seto gathered Joey in his arms and led him back into the bedroom. Seating him on the bed, the brunet sat next to him. "Puppy, you have nothing to be sorry for."

"Yes I do! Everyone's going to leave me. I don't want them to leave me. Don't leave me, Seto. Please don't leave me. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I won't ignore you again," Joey pleaded through his cries.

Seto felt at a loss as to what to do, so he settled on the truth. "Puppy, I have to admit that you did hurt me, but your reaction was legitimate. I said that I loved you…and I brushed it off as nothing. But it does mean something, Puppy. I do…love you. And if it means anything to you, I forgive you, too."

Joey slowly got his emotions under control long enough to hug the brunet. When his breathing finally calmed, he pulled away, only to kiss Seto passionately.

The CEO quickly responded. Gathering his Puppy in his arms again, he deepened the kiss, devouring every little crevice in the blond's hot cavern, making sure to map out everything and commit it to memory.

When they finally pulled away, Joey looked up at him longingly. "I love you," he whispered. "I always have. I just never thought that you actually would…or who it was that you would actually love. The real me? Of the façade? But now, I know that I can trust you completely. I've been pushing you away because this is all so sudden, but I hadn't taken into consideration that this is new for you, too."

"We're both a piece of work, aren't we?" Seto admitted quietly. "But that doesn't mean we can't have a strong relationship. I know I love you, and anyone who disapproves can go fuck themselves. I don't give a shit what other people think other than you and Mokuba. The same should go for you. Puppy, you'll always have us…no matter what."

"I think you're wonderful," Joey replied softly, placing his head in the crook of Seto's neck. "I'll beat the crap out of anyone who says otherwise."

"Even your friends?" Seto knew he was touching a nerve, but he had to know how willing Joey was to commit to their relationship.

"Even my friends," Joey stated strongly. "I wonder why they haven't tried to contact me, though. They didn't even seem concerned that I wasn't there yesterday."

"I noticed that, too. But perhaps they might start looking now."

"What do you mean?"

"After you stepped out of the shop, I might have accidentally given them a…bit of a friendship speech."

Joey chuckled. "I would have paid to see that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Seto asked with a glare.

"Nothing."

"Nothing, huh? We'll see about that. Tell me, Puppy. Are you ticklish?"

Joey's eyes widened comically. "No! Don't you even think about it, Seto!"

"Too late!"

"Seto!"

* * *

Yugi paced the Game Shop nervously. He was growing more nervous by the minute. After what Bakura had said yesterday, he and his friends had been trying to get a hold of Joey for hours. They hadn't seen hide or hair of Ryou and Bakura, but the rest of them had been searching for the blond tirelessly.

But the scary part was that Yugi hadn't realized how much he _didn't _know about Joey. He didn't know where he lived; he didn't recall ever getting a cell number, let alone a home number, from the blond. Joey would just…show up.

Everyone had searched his usual hangout spots, but they could find nothing!

"Calm down, Yugi. I'm sure Joey's fine," said Yami.

"Calm down? You want me to calm down? Our friend is missing!"

"Yugi, whatever it is, I'm sure Joey can handle it."

"How do you know that? Are you absolutely sure he's okay? Can you prove to me that he's okay?"

Yami faltered, knowing that he couldn't assuage Yugi's fears.

Suddenly, Yugi stopped pacing. "What if Bakura's right? What if Katsuya is actually Joey?" he asked quickly.

Yami felt a sense of amusement and horror wash over him. "Yugi, you're jumping to conclusions. Joey wouldn't befriend Kaiba and he would _never _date him."

"But what if he was? What if that's really Joey and everything he said was true about Kaiba being his boyfriend and all?"

Sighing, Yami said, "I don't think so. Besides, why would Joey put up this elaborate scheme to deceive all of us?"

"To see if we trust him. To see if we're really his friends," Yugi stated slowly, everything falling into place in his mind. "He…wanted to know if we'd still accept him as our friend even if he's dating Kaiba. Joey just wanted our approval and wanted to assure himself that we were really his friends."

"If that was really Joey, then we have to help him," replied Yami. "He's making a big mistake."

"But what if he isn't? What if _we're _the ones making the mistake?"

Yami started frowning, not liking where this was going. "But Kaiba—"

"But nothing!" Yugi snapped. "Just because he's _your _enemy doesn't mean he's everyone's! We don't know very much about him. And what if Joey's gotten through to him and…turned him around or something?"

"Yugi, this isn't right."

"I can't believe you," Yugi stated, appalled. "After everything Joey's done for us—all of us—you would turn your back on him because he's with Kaiba?"

When Yami remained silent, Yugi did something he never thought he'd do in his entire life.

"Get out, Yami."

Yami's eyes widened in shock. "But Yugi—"

"I want you out, Yami! And don't come back until you've straightened yourself out!"

Yami left quietly. When he was gone, Yugi burst into tears. He couldn't believe what he'd just done, but he'd fix the problem with Yami later. Now, he had to go talk to Joey.

* * *

"Well, Puppy. Mokuba's gone to the park, so that means we have the whole house to ourselves. What do you want to do?" Seto asked suggestively.

Joey was about to answer when the doorbell suddenly rang. "Who could that be? Are you expecting company?"

"No," he replied.

Releasing his hold on his Puppy, the brunet made his way to the door with Joey trailing behind. When he opened the front door, the sight before him startled him.

"Yugi?" Seto asked, stunned by the small boy's disheveled appearance.

"Kaiba, is Joey here?" he inquired meekly.

Joey beat the CEO in answering. "Yugi?" he called.

Amethyst eyes widened in surprise. "Joey!" he exclaimed bursting through the door and past Seto into the blond's arms. "It really is you!"

Joey hugged the small boy, still trying to overcome the shock of the situation.

"Yeah. What…are you doing here?"

Yugi pulled away and looked up at the blond. "I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday. Bakura was actually the one who figured everything out. He knew who you really were. After he said you were really Joey and not Katsuya, everyone was scrambling around to see if it was true. When we couldn't find you, I put two and two together…and I kicked out Yami," he rambled.

All Joey felt he got was that Yugi kicked out Yami. The rest was a blur. "What do you mean you kicked out Yami?"

"He's…being difficult. He can't get over the fact that his greatest enemy is with his best friend. I kicked him out to shock him into thinking about how he reacted," Yugi explained.

"What's going on?" Seto demanded.

"Yugi kicked Yami out because he obviously can't get over his hatred of you. _That _accompanied with you dating me seems to have pushed him over the deep end. He's a mess," paraphrased Joey.

Yugi eyed him strangely. "Why are you talking like that?" he asked.

"That's a long story. How about we talk about it over lunch," replied Joey. He glanced over to Seto to make sure that was okay, but when he saw a weird look in his eyes, he was afraid to ask his next question. "Why do you look so…giddy?"

"Since Yami is so emotionally crippled at the moment, I wonder if I can beat him in a duel now," he mumbled, although it was quite loud.

"Don't push your luck, Seto. Now are you coming to lunch or not?"

Seto seemed to jolt back into reality at that point. "We are not having a guest for lunch."

"Yes we are," Joey state firmly, glaring at the stoic CEO.

"Fine," he grumbled as he strode off to the kitchen.

"What was that all about?" Yugi asked, confused.

"He's just pissed because whenever it seems like we have a bit of _alone _time, we get interrupted. Although, by alone time, I mean perv—"

"Shut the fuck up, Puppy and get your ass in the damn kitchen! You want a damn guest? You make the fucking food!" Seto bellowed from the kitchen.

Joey just laughed. "Don't worry, Yugi. He'll be fine. He's actually quite sweet when he wants to be."

"I'm warning you, Puppy!"

Joey laughed as he guided Yugi into the kitchen.

Yugi was actually quite surprised to see Seto's reddening face. He was embarrassed! If only his friends could see this! Joey and Seto _were _really good for each other.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	11. 2nd Monday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 11 – Monday**

Seto lay in bed with his hands behind his head as he gazed up at the ceiling. He was alone for the most part; Joey and Mokuba were currently playing video games downstairs in the game room. It was a good thing they were, because it gave Seto time to think.

He wanted a little peace and quiet to reflect on what had happened over the past week. And what a week it had been. Never in his entire life had he expected Joey to have such secrets, but that wasn't all the brunet thought about. He also wondered what secrets his Puppy was still hiding.

But the problem was…would he confide in him? And in addition to that, would Joey ever hurt him again?

* * *

_**Seto's POV**_

Did I forgive him too easily yesterday? I know Joey meant well, but I still can't shake the feeling that he just needed to hear being forgiven rather than honestly receiving forgiveness.

I mean…is he going to intentionally hurt me again? Is he going to ignore me if I ever hurt his feelings? I don't mean to hurt him. I just…don't know how to handle my emotions very well. I react in order to help myself, never thinking of how my reactions might affect others.

But Joey does the same, doesn't he? He needs to _hear_ that someone loves him, that someone forgives him. And if he doesn't, he lashes out and hurts those around him emotionally.

He hurt _me_…emotionally. No one's ever done that to me before. I must really love him if I'm willing to let him hurt me like that. And maybe I did forgive him too easily…too quickly. But I'd rather see him happy than hurt, even if it means swallowing my pride to do so…even if it means I need to deal with the hurt.

I would _never _intentionally hurt him. Ever. But he might do that to me. If he's hurting, he wants me to know he's hurting, even if that means hurting me.

I don't know what to do. Why does this have to be so hard? Maybe I am…helplessly in love.

_**End Seto's POV**_

* * *

Joey trudged up the stairs tiredly. Who knew Mokuba had that kind of energy? It was exhausting! And they were just playing video games! Well, he might as well find Seto. He hadn't seen him all day.

Rapping lightly on the door, he opened it when he heard a faint, 'come in.' Confused by the disheartened tone, Joey pushed the door open, only to see Seto splayed out on his back on the bed.

"Have you been like this all day?" Joey asked, concerned.

"Yes," came the soft reply.

Joey sat on the bed next to Seto and placed a hand on his forehead. "Do you feel okay? You don't seem much like yourself right now."

"I'm not sick, Puppy."

"Then what's bothering you?" Joey responded, lying down next to Seto, cuddling up against him. He felt Seto tense, but after a few seconds, the brunet wrapped his arms around him.

"I love you, Joey."

The blond's expression grew grave. "I love you, too. But that's not what's wrong. Tell me, Seto. Please?"

The CEO frowned in thought. Maybe he should pull the 'public eye Seto Kaiba' for this conversation. It might be the only way to get the answers he needed. "Why should I tell you anything? You won't confide in me about these nightmares you're apparently having, you won't tell me about your home life or your past, so why should I say a word?"

Joey closed his eyes and sighed. He knew this conversation was going to happen sooner or later. It was just…hard.

"What do you want to know?" the blond whispered.

Seto hadn't expected this reaction from Joey. In fact, he'd been waiting for an argument to start accompanied with lots of yelling. The blond's sudden submissive tone had him slightly concerned, but he let it slide for now. He needed to know.

"If," Seto began, "you were in a dark and isolated area and you felt someone grab you from behind, how would you react?"

Joey raised his head and eyed the CEO strangely. He hadn't expected a question like that. What was—oh…

"Have you decided to do a little psychological profiling for our Social Behavior Project? Are you going to be watching my hand and body movements also?"

Seto rolled his eyes and sat up, taking Joey with him. "I figured that you wouldn't want to tell me anything too personal just yet, so I decided to settle on ambiguous questions that you can provide honest answers to. I'm very good at reading people, Puppy. You can tell me a lot without really telling me…with the answers to the questions I have in mind."

Joey plopped himself back onto the bed, his hands resting above his head. For some reason, gazing up at the ceiling made it easier to think…and talk.

"I'm in a dark and isolated area, huh? That makes me think of an alleyway. And if someone grabbed me from behind…I would panic. My body would start shaking, my breathing would become harder and more strained, and I would most likely be bracing myself for the oncoming pain. But the slightest change in atmosphere could change all that. If I could grab hold of my fear, I might be able to fight back. But then again…it might depend on who I'm up against. Next question."

Seto mulled over Joey's answer before responding. "What, would you say, is the strangest thing you have ever witnessed in public?"

Joey burst out laughing. "Is that a serious question?"

Seto nodded, wondering why the blond found it so amusing.

"Oh, I hope you're ready for this answer. We had a sleepover at Yugi's one time, when Yami and Bakura first had their own bodies. The living room at Yugi's place is connected to the kitchen and the door was open. Well, everyone was ready to call it a night, but we wanted a snack before going to sleep, so we sent Yami and Bakura into the kitchen to get something.

"It was such perfect timing. As soon as they got into the kitchen, the ice dropped down from the ice machine in the refrigerator. It scared the hell out of the two of them! But I think it scared Bakura the most. He launched Yami into the fridge, screaming 'Take him,' and took off running back into the living room! I think we laughed for hours after that."

The brunet tried to stifle his laughter, yet to no avail. He burst out laughing right alongside Joey, taking the blond by surprise.

"You really can laugh, can't you? And I thought your evil cackle was all you could do," Joey said teasingly.

"Well, then it looks like we _both _have a lot to learn from each other," replied Seto.

"And what do you think you've learned from me?"

"Just from the answers to these two questions, I've learned that you hate being alone, especially in the dark. You always think someone's going to hurt you or leave you. This might stem from your mother and sister leaving you, perhaps? They left you with your father, and he sort of represents the dark. You associate being alone with the dark and pain; that's why you hate it.

"On the other hand, you know how to have a good time, how to laugh, but you can really enjoy yourself and let loose when you're with your friends. You've always believed that they couldn't hurt you because you've had so many good times together; you look out for each other. Am I close?"

"Right on the dot," Joey answered slowly. "Do you have any more questions for me?"

"Are you willing to answer them if I do?"

"Yes."

"All right then. What is your favorite sport or physical activity? What aspect of it do you like the most?"

"Hm…I think that would probably have to be running. Racing out in the open, the wind flying through my hair. It makes me feel like I'm flying…like I'm completely free."

"Like our dragons," Seto replied thoughtfully.

Joey smiled. "Yeah."

"Okay. Can you describe a situation in which an accidental physical action—like tripping or dropping something—made you embarrassed?"

When the blond started blushing furiously, Seto grew intrigued.

"Um, remember that time in class when I dropped my pencil and it rolled over to you?"

"Yes, what of it?"

"Well, after I went to get it—because you wouldn't give it to me—and returned to my seat, Duke said that from the angle he was sitting, it looked like…I was giving you a blowjob," Joey sputtered.

Now this _was _a wonderful snippet of information. It looked like his Puppy was innocent…_very _innocent. The brunet guessed he had quite a blushing virgin on his hands. It made him want to jump the blond, but he decided that it was in their best interest that he not do so.

Clearing his throat, Seto continued. "What is your worst pet peeve? When's the last time it happened? How did you feel when it did?"

"Drugs and alcohol," Joey answered almost immediately. "My dad would always smoke and drink. It impaired his judgment…made him violent. The last time that happened was…the day before I came here. It was the worst and best day of my life…

"I honestly thought he'd kill me. That morning…he was beyond wasted. And the night before…I'd gotten the worst beating in my life. If I hadn't made it out onto that fire escape…I don't know if I'd be here," he gasped out in sudden realization.

Seto wasn't sure how to interpret Joey's last sentence. Did he mean that he wouldn't be here as in the Kaiba Mansion? Or did he mean he wouldn't be…alive?

"Puppy—"

"Just move onto the next question, Seto. I know you have more. You can interpret my answer any way you please, but the reality of the situation is that I'm _here_."

But Seto wasn't through. He laced his fingers with Joey's before moving onto his next question. And the last one he had in mind might be the most difficult if his suspicions were correct.

"Can you describe one of the household chores or responsibilities you were assigned? What did you like or dislike about it?"

Joey froze, looking up at Seto worriedly. "Why do you need to know that?"

"Just…answer the question, Puppy," Seto urged him comfortingly.

"I was a household _slave_," Joey said with disgust. "He made me do everything. Wash the dishes, clean the floors, do the laundry, make dinner…I had to make everything completely _spotless_. I could make the floor sparkle, but he wouldn't like it anyway. He wanted it so clean you could eat off of it. One time I grew so mad, I told him you could. That was a mistake.

"He took his dinner, which he called crap, and threw it on the floor. He smeared it all over the floor with his foot…and he told me if I thought the floor was so clean, I should eat off of it. When I said no, he shoved my face down onto the floor…and he made eat it! Everything! He told me I was a slob, and that I made his shoes dirty, so he made me…lick them clean.

"I had to do it, Seto. I had to. It was either that or getting branded by the stove. I didn't want to, but I had to."

Joey was in tears now. Seto was nearing them as well. Pulling his Puppy into his arms, he let the blond cry, rubbing his back soothingly in the process.

How could someone be so cruel to someone so sweet? It angered the brunet to no end.

And that's where he fell back into his rut. He couldn't be mad at Joey. Ever. He wanted the blond to be happy; he wanted to _make _him happy. Seto would forgive and forget over and over again, because the pain Joey endured far outweighed what he did.

Maybe it was wrong; it probably was. But Joey had to heal _himself_ before they could ever hope to build a strong relationship. And if Seto had to suffer before they got there, he would do so willingly…because his love for Joey was the deepest thing he had, and he wouldn't lose that for anything.

Heal Joey first. Then heal himself. Seto might not be pleased with the thought; it might have gone against everything he'd been taught to believe and trust in, but his Puppy needed hope. And if he could help heal him, Joey might just change into the sweet and caring person he knew he was buried deep inside.

The blond's deep-seated fears and sudden abrupt reactions to situations that hurt him were preventing him from moving on with his life. If Seto wanted to be a part of it, he was going to have to assure Joey that he _was _a part of his life and would remain so.

But Seto was damned if he knew how he was going to prove it.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	12. 2nd Tuesday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 12 – Tuesday**

Exhaling slowly, Joey opened his eyes. By the sunlight peeking through the curtains, he guessed that the sun had just risen. And he felt absolutely wonderful.

Perhaps wonderful wasn't the right word. Joey felt relieved, free—like a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. The weight that had once restricted his chest, preventing him to _live_, was now gone.

In its place was an unyielding sense of being loved and cared for. What surprised Joey the most, however, was that he felt the same way in return for the sleeping brunet beside him. The blond knew he loved Seto before, but what he felt now seemed to go beyond what he had been previously feeling; it felt fresh and new, as if he had a clean slate—one he was willing to take advantage of.

Had speaking with Seto yesterday really healed him so much? Come to think of it, he hadn't even had any nightmares last night. Not one. Joey had actually woken up feeling lively, not desolate. It was something he could really get used to.

Joey turned onto his side and gazed at Seto's dozing form. As he analyzed the brunet's calm features, he noticed that Seto looked both peaceful and troubled. And the blond knew why. Seto was peaceful because he had told him about his past, and he was troubled because Joey had hurt him. The blond hadn't meant to; he had just wanted the brunet to hurt because _he_ had been hurting.

But that was going to stop. It was time that the Dragon stopped taking care of his Puppy. Now, the Puppy would take care of his Dragon.

* * *

Joey had watched Seto for a few minutes more before leaving the room. He wanted to make sure the brunet would be asleep for awhile longer.

As he tiptoed down the hall, he went downstairs and into the kitchen. Putting together a simple breakfast, he grabbed a tray, placed the meal on it, and headed back upstairs to Seto's room.

Managing to get the door open, however, was another task entirely. Joey didn't know how he did it, but he managed to pry the door open—without dropping the tray and having one wrist in a cast. Whoever said miracles ceased to exist?

Finally making it into the room, Joey placed the tray on the bedside table and crept back into bed. Carefully snuggling up to Seto, the blond planted a very soft kiss on the brunet's lips.

"It's time to wake up, my sleepy little Dragon," Joey whispered, giving him another kiss.

Seto woke, and he was quite pleased to see his Puppy smiling at him sweetly. Oh, how long he had waited to see that smile.

"Morning, Pup," Seto yawned.

"Morning, Seto. I made you some breakfast," Joey replied lovingly.

The brunet frowned. "You didn't have to do that, Joey. I can do that myself. And besides, I'm not much of a breakfast eater anyway."

"Well, that's going to change. You're going to eat something even if it means I have to feed it to you myself." He _really _had Seto's attention now.

Where had this sensitive, nurturing Joey come from all of a sudden? Seto realized at this present moment that he felt like the blond must have when he'd thought he was an alien.

"Are you all right, Puppy?" Seto asked, concern lacing his voice.

Joey laughed, amused by the brunet's reaction to his behavior. "I'm fine, Seto. I feel really great today. I think talking to you about my past yesterday really helped me. Thank you," he replied, kissing Seto sweetly on the mouth.

The brunet found himself smiling by that simple action. "You're welcome, Puppy. So what are we having for breakfast?" he asked when he saw Joey bringing the breakfast tray to the bed.

"Scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, coffee for you, and orange juice for me."

"You cooked? You didn't blow up my kitchen, did you?" Seto teased.

Joey huffed and stared at him like a displeased mother. "I can cook pretty damn well, thank you very much. Now shut the hell up and eat your fucking breakfast."

Seto had to stifle his laughter. Only Joey could get so irked over something like this. It was just too cute.

"You're so adorable when you're flustered. Hn…it kind of makes me want to have _you _for breakfast instead."

Joey turned beet red. "Like hell!" he screeched. "You're doing nothing of the sort! Now eat your damn breakfast before I cover you in it!"

Seto _really _started smirking then. His Puppy was too innocent for his own good. "Will you eat it off me if you do?"

Joey resisted the urge to smack the 'pervertedness' out of him. Instead, he tried a different tactic. "But Seto, I got up just to make breakfast for you. Don't you want your Puppy to take care of his Dragon?" he asked innocently, giving Seto the teary puppy-eyes.

"Stop it," the brunet snapped.

Breaking from his little act, Joey felt hurt, but only for a moment. When he saw the red tinge on Seto's cheeks and the pillow that was suddenly in his lap, the blond couldn't help but laugh.

"I guess I don't really have to do much to turn you on, huh?"

"Shut up! You really are too cute for your own good. Now let's eat breakfast before I _take you_ on it."

Joey felt both excited and scared by the comment, but he let the latter feeling pass. He wanted to play with his Dragon a little more.

Snatching the pillow away from Seto's lap, Joey crawled over the surprised brunet and straddled him, pushing him onto his back on the bed.

"You shouldn't bark orders at your Puppy," he said, his lips grazing Seto's. He grinned when he felt the brunet's breathing increase rapidly. "You might make him mad. And then he wouldn't do things like this."

Joey ran his tongue across Seto's lips before tugging on his bottom lip with his teeth, begging the brunet for entrance. Seto granted him that privilege. As Joey entered the brunet's mouth, he began sucking on his tongue in a very robust manner, drawing a delightful groan from the older teen beneath him.

Pulling away, Joey started trailing kisses around Seto's jaw line, gradually moving from the base of his ear to down his neck. When the blond started lapping at his collarbone, Seto pushed him away.

"Too fast. Not ready," Seto panted, a look of regret in his eyes.

Joey backed away and moved off of him, surprised that he had actually said that. "I wasn't going to do anything more than that if…that's what you thought," he replied apologetically.

"Puppy," he began, sitting up again, "what I mean to say is…we're not…_I'm _not ready for our relationship to go that far yet. Do you understand?"

"Yes. I do. I'm not ready for that either."

"Then why did you—"

"You work me up all the time…so I kind of wanted to give it a try," Joey answered meekly, blushing cutely in the process.

"Well, you succeeded," Seto grumbled, rolling his eyes.

Joey beamed. "Can we eat breakfast now? I'm starving!"

"Sure. I wouldn't want my little Puppy to be hungry all day."

Eagerly passing Seto a plate, they dug into their food. But after the brunet's initial bite, Joey grew concerned; he hadn't swallowed yet.

"Seto? Are you okay?" Joey asked timidly. Was he _really_ a bad cook?

The brunet managed to swallow the food, but he was having a hard time not acting…stupid. It was probably the best thing he'd ever tasted. Just what the hell did Joey do to the damn eggs to make them taste so good?

When Seto turned wide and teary eyes on Joey, the blond freaked. _Oh, no_, Joey thought frantically. _My food is so bad he's crying? I've poisoned him or something haven't I?_

"You're cooking from now on," Seto stated abruptly.

"What?"

"This is…delicious. And it's only scrambled eggs. What the hell did you do to them?"

"I added a little bit of salt and pepper, some fresh basil and sage," Joey answered cautiously.

"That's it?"

"And…love?" Just what kind of an answer was Seto looking for?

"You can cook other things, right? Different foods? Like things for lunches? Dinners? Desserts?"

Joey wanted to run at that point. From the crazed look in Seto's eyes, he was imagining all the kinds of food the blond could possibly cook up.

Suddenly a banging on the door interrupted them.

"Joey?" Mokuba called. "Did you make me that breakfast? Come on! Answer me! Did you?" The small boy was starting to sound like a cat trying to claw his way in through the door. "Joey," he whined again.

The blond looked away from the door back to Seto, only to see him devour the rest of his plate in a manner of seconds. He even topped it off with a loud belch, something Joey would have done. It was really strange coming from Seto.

"Excuse me," he said. "So…uh, what's for lunch?" the brunet asked gently.

The door burst open and Mokuba flung himself at Joey, hugging him tightly. "Joey, breakfast was soooooooo good. Are you cooking from now on? Because you should be cooking from now on. Especially for me! I'm a growing boy! I need good food! Your food! Please cook from now on! Please!"

"Mokuba," Joey started, his expression growing soft, but then realization hit him like a nuclear bomb. "Wait! How'd you get in? I locked the door!"

Mokuba let Joey go and backed away slowly. "Oh! I…uh…kind of picked the lock," he replied sheepishly.

"Picked the—Mokuba! What if we'd been having sex in here or something and you just picked the lock and waltzed in, huh?"

Both Mokuba and Seto's eyes widened at the thought; although, Seto's mind was actually in a gutter somewhere, not thinking about destroying his brother's innocence with his licentious activities.

A whack from a nearby pillow brought the both of them out of their…disturbing thoughts.

"You guys are unbelievable! _You _for picking the damn lock and _you _for having dirty thoughts!"

Seto glared at them. "And how are you suddenly aware of what my thoughts are?"

"Seto? Why is your nose bleeding?" Mokuba asked.

Joey placed his hands on his hips and gave Seto a knowing smirk, in which the brunet promptly grabbed a tissue, ushered Mokuba out of the room, and fled to the bathroom.

When Joey heard the shower turn on, he laughed. Life with the Kaiba brothers was definitely going to be interesting. He couldn't wait for what would happen next.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	13. 2nd Wednesday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 13 – Wednesday**

Yugi sat at the desk in his room and stared out the window. He was still going over what Joey had told him a couple days ago. And he still couldn't believe what he'd said.

Soon, a knock sounded on his door. Without turning around, Yugi said, "Come in," fully expecting his Grandpa to enter.

"May I speak with you, Yugi?"

Yugi's eyes widened in surprise. "Yami?" he exclaimed, spinning around in his chair so fast that he almost fell out of it. "What're you doing here? I thought you'd—"

"Yugi, please let me explain. I've been doing a lot of thinking over the past few days."

"Okay. Well, let's sit over here so we can talk," replied Yugi, indicating that they sit on the bed. When they did so, Yugi continued. "Yami, I know I kicked you out, but I didn't think you'd really _leave_ for that long! I was just…so mad at the time. I said that without thinking. I'm sorry."

"Actually, it was a good thing that you did so. Your spontaneous decision left me to reevaluate my situation. I've been sitting in the park the past two days trying to figure out how to fix things. I made a very grave mistake. I let my hate for Kaiba get the better of me. In turn, I hurt my friend…and my love. I do hope you can forgive me, Yugi," he sighed, not expecting any sort of forgiveness.

It was then that Yugi took in Yami's disheveled appearance. The haggard look, dirty clothing, and pallid complexion were completely unlike the former pharaoh. Yugi couldn't help but instantly feel pity and the need to take care of Yami, but he had a few things to settle first.

"I spoke with Joey after you left," said Yugi softly.

Now it was Yami's turn for his eyes to widen. "You…found him? Where was he? Is Joey all right?"

"Slow down, Yami. Let me explain. After you left, I decided to go to Kaiba Mansion to see if Joey was there. I truly believed that Katsuya and Joey were one and the same. When I got there, Joey was there, and he was pretty surprised to see me. I got invited in for lunch so that we could talk. Kaiba was there, too."

"What did you talk about? Did he mention why he tried to deceive us the other day?" Yami decided to take this step by step. He was trying desperately not to jump to conclusions.

Yugi noticed his effort, too, and smiled inwardly. "Joey said that he'd been paired up with Kaiba for a Social Behavior Project for school the day before Spring Break started. Part of the project was that he had to live with Kaiba, but…apparently when Joey got there, Kaiba had to call his doctor to check up on him."

Yami's eyes narrowed. "Why would Joey need a doctor? He wasn't sick that day, was he?"

Yugi shook his head as he fought back tears. "His father had been abusing him. He's been abusing him for years and we didn't know," he gasped softly.

This news floored Yami. Why would Joey hide something like this? Why didn't he get help? Why didn't he tell them what was going on?

Yugi sniffed and looked at Yami. "Kaiba suspected that he was being abused. The doctor confirmed his suspicions about the abuse. That Friday, Joey was suffering from a mild concussion, bruised ribs, a sprained ankle, and malnutrition."

"Why didn't he tell us?" Yami exclaimed, hurt by his friend's secret.

"Joey said he didn't want us to worry. He's been hiding himself for so long that it didn't occur to him to ask for help. He said he did so when he was younger, but nothing happened and he was still at home with his father. Joey…the Joey we know, he faked. He said being the funny guy, the goofball, didn't draw attention to him like being himself would have. Had he been himself, someone would have figured out something was wrong. But if he put on a happy attitude, no one would question him."

"I can't believe—wait! So how did he get a cast on his arm? You said nothing about that."

"That was…an accident. Don't look at me like that! Let me explain first before you go all…commando or something. Joey said he was in a state of denial and was trying to push Kaiba away, even though he was honestly trying to help him. It was hard for him, Yami. Kaiba kept trying to help him, but Joey was pushing him out. So Kaiba got mad and pushed Joey away from him. When Kaiba left the room, Joey stumbled and sprained his other ankle and broke his wrist."

"That's it! I'm going to kill Kaiba!" Yami roared, making ready to leave.

"Yami, wait! I'm not finished!"

Yami paused at the door and turned to face Yugi. "What else?"

"Well, the reason Kaiba got so mad was because Joey had apparently faked amnesia or something and then Kaiba found out and…yeah. But after the whole incident, Kaiba got really upset and apologized to Joey and…"

"And what?" asked Yami, raising an eyebrow.

"They sort of confessed to each other and now they're dating," Yugi blurted rapidly.

Yami closed his eyes, letting everything sink in. Then he started chuckling. "It just figures that my best friend would start dating my worst enemy. They definitely make an interesting couple, don't they? And they'll probably have one of the most complex relationships on this earth."

"So…you're okay with this?" Yugi asked, fidgeting slightly.

"Yes. I have to trust Joey. It hurts knowing that he didn't feel he could trust us enough to tell us what was going on, but what Joey…_and_ Kaiba need right now is our support," Yami said finally.

"That's not all," Yugi said quietly. "What I'm going to tell you now…you have to promise me you won't tell anyone. Not even Kaiba. He doesn't know…yet."

"I promise not to tell anyone, Yugi. You can trust me," Yami replied sincerely.

"Joey didn't tell anyone about his father because…he's afraid that if he did, his father would find them and try to hurt them."

"Why would his father do something like that?"

"His father is afraid of what Joey might say."

"Say about what?"

"His father used to work for Gozaburo Kaiba as his personal bodyguard. Joey said that when his father gets drunk, he tells him things…things he doesn't want to hear, secrets he wished he didn't know. If Joey ever told and his father found out, he'd be…in for it."

Yami was beginning to feel quite uneasy. This wasn't good. "Did Joey tell you anything about what his father told him?"

"No. He wouldn't say. And he looked very scared. He's probably wondering if his father will start looking for him."

Yami sighed, feeling absolutely helpless. "He needs to tell Kaiba…and soon."

* * *

It was early afternoon when Seto came home. He'd been dragged into work even though he had given himself two weeks off for Spring Break. But alas, problems arose that he could not avoid. Well, he was home now and eager to find his Puppy so that they could spend some time together.

Heading for the game room, Seto stepped through the door, fully expecting to see Mokuba and Joey playing together. But he only saw Mokuba.

"Where's Joey? I thought you two were going to spend the day together."

Mokuba paused his game and looked at Seto. "We were, but Joey said he wanted to go to the art room for a while," he replied.

"Art room?" Seto echoed. "Mokuba, I never showed him the art room. How would he know where it was?"

Mokuba shrugged his shoulders and got up from the couch to walk over to Seto. "Then why would he say he was going there?"

"I don't know." Something was off. Why would Joey seek a room he didn't know existed? "Let's go see what he's up to…_quietly_."

They went up the stairs and down the vast expanse of hallway. Seto couldn't even remember the last time he went this far down the hallway. But when they approached the art room, they noticed that the door was closed.

Unlike the other doors in this hall, the art room was the only one that had a small glass window on the door. There was even a small latch that could be opened from the outside of the door to provide one with a small opening, perhaps to hear what was going on inside.

And when Seto tested the door, finding it locked, he did just that and opened the latch. Glancing through the glass, his eyes panned the room for his Puppy, and when he spotted him, he made to call out, but stopped. Joey had just started talking. Seto told Mokuba not to make a sound. He wanted to hear what his Puppy had to say.

* * *

Joey wandered aimlessly around the art room as he re-familiarized himself with it. _So _many years had passed since he'd last been here. So many years.

Looking around the room, the blond guessed that no one had been in here for some time. Everything was covered in dusty white sheets. Even the paintings.

He moved over to the hearth where a prominent painting rested above it, a large sheet hanging over it as well. Joey grabbed the sheet and yanked it off, revealing a startling painting of none other than Gozaburo Kaiba.

The blond's fingers hesitantly traced the initials 'JW' on the right-hand corner of the painting. He strongly believed the painting burned him to the touch, but it was only his imagination. His eyes scanned the portrait and he peered at the torturous eyes of its namesake.

The portrait of Gozaburo looked realer than a photograph. His clothing looked soft to the touch, his hair smooth and slick, his expression hard and calculating, and his eyes…his eyes were so cold. Joey felt as if those eyes bore into his soul; they followed his every movement.

"I don't know if Seto actually killed you or not," Joey started, breaking the eerie silence of the room. "And even if he did, I wouldn't hold it against him. In all honesty, you deserved plummeting to your death more than anyone. I hope it was painful. I hope you suffered."

Joey turned his back on the painting, glaring at the room. "But a death like that was far too easy for you. You deserved worse than that, Gozaburo."

He faced the painting again. "I wonder, though. What would have happened if Noah hadn't died? Or worse…what would have happened if Noah had died and you hadn't adopted Seto and Mokuba?"

Joey visibly trembled as he cast his eyes to the floor. "I never wanted to be with a Kaiba, let alone fall in love with one. But Seto isn't a real Kaiba, is he? He's not. He's not like you…and he's not like Noah. He's just Seto…my Seto."

Suddenly, the blond's head perked up. "I know you're there," he said, eyes glued to the painting once more.

Seto flinched. He'd been so engrossed in Joey's words that having the blond speak to him directly startled him. Mokuba had grabbed his hand and was clutching it tightly when he noticed that Joey was coming toward the door.

"Seto," Mokuba whined worriedly.

But before Seto could respond, the door was already open, with Joey staring at them expressionlessly.

"He used to do the same thing. This was the only place where he could look and listen, but never touch," said Joey, his face blank and emotionless. When Seto and Mokuba made no move to respond, the blond sighed. "You can come in if you want."

As Joey slowly wandered back into the room, Seto bolted into action. "What were you talking about? How did you know…_Gozaburo_?" Just saying the name left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Joey found an armchair and plopped himself into it, dust billowing around him. He waved it away in a means to clear the air. "I knew him for a long time…much longer than you," he answered quietly.

Seto didn't know where to begin. He was completely lost as to where to start. But Mokuba knew how.

"Why were you talking to his picture?" Mokuba asked, looking up at the picture fearfully. "I don't think I've ever seen that one."

"And you wouldn't have. He never let anyone inside this room other than me," Joey responded just as quietly as before. "I…had hoped to leave this room before you two started looking for me. I even had an excuse ready to avoid being confronted on how I knew there was an art room. I wasn't quite ready to talk to you guys about this yet…but you found me," he said helplessly.

"Joey, why were you talking to him?" Mokuba asked again.

"When I was six, my father started taking me to work with him. You see, he was Gozaburo's personal bodyguard. This was after my parents divorced and I was forced to stay with my father. Since there was no one to take care of me at home, he took me here. Gozaburo allowed him to, so I usually ended up in what you now call the game room…with Noah.

"It looked so much different then. There was a large desk in the far corner of the room. That's where Noah would study. I usually sat in the corner opposite of him with a sketchpad, and I would just draw. It wasn't too long after this routine started that things got…out of control."

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_Justin Wheeler peered into the study where his son and Noah seemed to be entertaining themselves. Gozaburo stood right beside him, watching the two young boys as well._

"_How old is your son?" Gozaburo asked._

"_Joey? He's six," Justin replied._

"_He's quite mature for his age," commented Gozaburo, staring at Joey intently._

"_And smart. He's the top of his class at school. But now that it's summer, he's got nothing to do and no one to look after him. When school's out, he usually just draws."_

"_Is he any good?"_

"_Go and see for yourself. He's probably working on something right now. Go check on him while I make my rounds," replied Justin, leaving._

_Gozaburo watched him leave before he stepped into the room. The small blond's head did not lift up; he was too transfixed in what he was drawing. As the older man approached the small boy, he peered over his shoulder, and what he saw nearly took his breath away._

_Joey had drawn Noah crouched over his desk, working tirelessly on his schoolwork. Even though it was summer, Gozaburo felt that one should never ease up on their studies. But the picture was so lifelike, so real; it was if he could reach out and touch his son in the flesh._

_Joey froze when a large hand reached out and stroked his picture. The blond's head shot up, only to see the face of his dad's boss staring down at him._

"_Your name is Joey, correct?"_

_The blond nodded mutely, still staring at the older man._

"_May I see what you've drawn so far?"_

"_Sure," Joey said softly, handing over his sketchbook. "I've done all kinds of pictures. It was only until I got here that I started drawing things that I see."_

_Gozaburo was surprised by the young boy's dialect. It was absent of all the flaws in language normal boys his age had. He seemed as intelligent as his own son._

"_And what did you draw before?" Gozaburo inquired._

"_Just things I imagined or dreamed. But I like drawing stuff I can see. There's…a lot of detail to look at."_

_Gozaburo was mightily impressed by the blond's portfolio. He was intelligent, talented, and was very easy on the eyes as well. Yes…he'd be a perfect match for Noah. But he had to convince his bodyguard of that first. Perhaps paying the man off would suffice._

"_Noah. Come look at Joey's drawings," Gozaburo called, setting his plan into motion._

_The boy stopped what he was doing and left his desk to come do as his father asked. When Noah got to the pictures of himself, he started laughing._

"_Why are you drawing me? Do you like me?" Noah giggled._

_Joey turned red. "No!" he protested. "I got tired of drawing inanimate objects and wanted to see how it would be to draw something that was constantly moving."_

_Both Gozaburo and Noah were surprised by the use of his word 'inanimate.' Gozaburo was more determined than ever to make Joey Noah's perfect match. But it would take time. A lot of time._

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

"Soon after that, Gozaburo had convinced my father to let me stay here. He told him that such an intelligent boy should have the best education possible and that he could give it to me. And the next two years, I lived here," said Joey breathlessly, his expression growing troubled. "But something went wrong after that. As I started growing older, Gozaburo took more of an…inappropriate interest in me."

Seto suddenly found it hard to breathe. "Puppy, did he—"

"He didn't rape me, if that's what you're thinking. He made subtle touches every once in a while and occasionally made me touch him. It was nothing too traumatizing. He usually just preferred to watch me. But even at that age I knew what he was thinking…and I feared he would one day act on it."

"Did you ever tell anyone, Joey?" Mokuba asked softly.

"There wasn't anyone to tell," Joey cried. "There was just me, Gozaburo, and Noah. I was mostly in here all of the time and Noah usually ignored me. He was always too wrapped up in his studies to pay me any mind. But when he caught Gozaburo touching me, Noah never let me out of his sight."

* * *

_**Flashback**_

"_That's a beautiful painting, Joey," cooed Gozaburo as he stroked the eight-year-old's back. "You did a wonderful job on my portrait. Now how should I thank you?"_

_Joey trembled and he squeezed his eyes shut when he felt Gozaburo's hand trail past his back to somewhere lower, his hand—_

"_Dad? There's someone downstairs who want to see you," called Noah._

_Suddenly, the hand was gone. "We'll continue this later," whispered Gozaburo as he left the room._

_Joey fought the urge to collapse as tears started running down his face. But then two small hands reached out and steadied him. He was looking into the concerned eyes of Noah._

"_I saw what he did," said Noah. "Does this happen often?"_

"_Only when we're alone a-and he's pleased with me," stammered Joey, shaking._

_Noah pulled him into his arms and hugged him. "I won't let him do that to you anymore. You're always going to stay with me…okay?"_

_Joey nodded, gripping Noah like a lifeline. Never again did he want to be alone with Gozaburo. Never._

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

"Noah kept his promise. We were always together. He even convinced Gozaburo to put another bed in his room so that I could sleep there. Noah told him that we were becoming great friends and that he liked me very much. Gozaburo believed him and he left me alone after that.

"But it was then that I knew my relationship with Noah had changed. He really started to like me and took interest in me, but I could see him no more than a friend. It hurt Noah when I told him that and he was determined to convince me otherwise.

"So one day, we went out into the garden. We were ten. He took me to the cherry blossom trees; they were in full bloom. We stood underneath one of the biggest trees, cherry blossoms fluttering down to the ground every now and then. It was breathtaking. Noah then decided that it was the right time for him to show me how he felt.

"He kissed me. It wasn't a big kiss, just a quick one on the cheek. I think it took both of us by surprise because we just stared at each other in shock, our faces getting red. Then Noah leaned in again. He wanted to kiss me again…this time on my lips.

"But before he could do so, my father saw. He'd been making his rounds…and he saw Noah kiss me the first time, but he got angry when he saw that Noah was going to do it again and I wasn't going to stop him. And he—" Joey stopped, sobs threatening to overcome his body. "I can't tell you this. I can't."

Seto knelt next to the blond and pulled him into his arms. Mokuba sat next to them and grabbed Joey's un-casted hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Puppy, what happened? What did your father do?" Seto had a feeling he knew what it was, but he had to hear it from Joey first.

"No! If he finds that out, he'll kill me!"

"He won't, Puppy. I'll protect you from him. Now what did your father do?" Seto demanded.

Joey took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself. "He killed him. He killed Noah right in front of me."

"But…that's not what Gozaburo said," Mokuba said meekly.

"I _know_. That's what he needed everyone to think. Had the public discovered that Gozaburo's bodyguard had killed his son, they would have discovered me. That was something Gozaburo didn't want. My father wasn't arrested, but fired, paid off, and sent to live in the slums. I was shipped off to join him after Gozaburo adopted you two. He said he'd send for me after he straightened things out and the time was right. He never did."

Seto didn't know what to say. Gozaburo had somewhat sexually abused him, his father physically and emotionally abused him, he'd witnessed someone dying by his father's own hand, and had been forced to live a life he didn't deserve. And in addition to that, Joey was virtually terrified by the thought of his father discovering him. Just what was that man capable of when sober?

"When I heard Gozaburo was dead, I was actually quite happy," started Joey once more. "But when I found out that a Kaiba would be attending Domino High, I nearly had a heart attack. I was afraid that you would be just like him. I wanted to avoid you, but you sought me out. The more I got to know you, the more I started to like you, even though I tried to hide it. I feared you.

"I had been afraid of Gozaburo because he had wanted me for his own sick pleasure. I had been afraid of Noah because I didn't want him to hate me if I couldn't return his affections. I had been afraid of you, Seto, because I didn't want to be hurt by a Kaiba ever again. When you stepped through that classroom door, I thought I was being punished for Noah and Gozaburo's deaths.

"But you're not a _real _Kaiba. You're different than they are. You let me be myself, you let me make my own decisions, you let me hurt you even though you don't want to be, you make sure you see to my needs before your own, and you love me. You care for me like no one else ever did.

"That's why I push you away sometimes. I feel like it's all too good to be true and you'll be snatched away from me, or you'll throw me away when you're done. I'm really sorry that I've hurt you in the past. It's just that I've only experienced joy with pain following shortly after. It's hard completely opening yourself up to someone. And I think you know what that means, too."

Seto leaned back, raising Joey's chin so their eyes could meet. "I do know what that means, Puppy. But that shouldn't stop us from trying to build a strong relationship. Instead of worrying about when we _might _get hurt, we need to relax and take comfort in each other's company. I love you and Mokuba more than anything in the world. I'd even give up my company in less than a heartbeat if it meant keeping the two of you happy, safe, and with me."

"What Seto's trying to say is that we want to have a happy and loving life just as much as you do. That means if anyone gets hurt emotionally, it's not intentional. If it happens, it happens. As long as you spend the same amount of time and energy healing your relationship as you do being mad at each other, things will work out," added Mokuba.

Joey pulled Mokuba into his arms and gave him a hug. "You're really smart, you know that?" he whispered.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," the small boy smiled.

"Little imp," Joey chuckled. "I love you guys."

"I would hope so. I didn't give that speech for nothing," said Mokuba.

"You're asking for it," warned Joey.

"And he'll receive it later," continued Seto, giving Mokuba a mock glare. "But on a more serious note, what happened in the past is in the past. It can haunt your future, but only if you let it. We all need to move on. And let go. It's over. It's done."

Joey sighed contentedly, closing his eyes. He'd told them his story—most of it, anyway—and they were still here supporting him. Perhaps _this _was what a real family was like. It felt good. _He _felt good. Seto was right. He needed to move on, especially if he wanted to become a better overall person for Seto and Mokuba. As long as he had them, he felt he could do it.

Growling soon interrupted his thoughts.

Seto chuckled. "Is the Puppy hungry?" he teased.

"That wasn't me," said Joey.

They looked down at Mokuba, who looked back up at them sheepishly. "What? I didn't have lunch!"

"You skipped lunch?" Joey exclaimed, shooting to his feet, hands on his hips as he glared at Mokuba. "You couldn't take fifteen minutes away from your game to eat something?"

Seto and Mokuba got to their feet and stared at him strangely.

"I snacked on a granola bar," the young boy said, backing away from Joey slowly.

"That's not a meal. And what about you? Did _you_ eat?" Joey inquired, rounding on Seto.

The CEO blanched and backed away with Mokuba. "No." When Joey's glare hardened, he stammered an explanation. "I was busy!"

"Too busy to eat?" replied Joey, eyebrow raised skeptically.

"If I say yes, what are you going to do?" Seto asked slowly.

"Reprimand you for not taking better care of yourself. Just look at the example you're setting for Mokuba!" Joey argued.

Seto thought that now was the time to leave before Joey went all out into 'mother-hen mode.' As he sprinted for the door, however, he found that it was already closed…and locked…from the outside.

"Mokuba!" he screamed, shaking the door handle, desperate to get it open before Joey blew up completely.

"Seto, for a genius, you're not really that smart, are you?"

"Huh?" replied Seto, confused by Joey's sudden calm demeanor. He watched as the blond slid his hand through the open latch and unlocked the door. He opened the door and beckoned for Seto to step out. When he did, Joey's eyes narrowed in anger again.

"I hope you like your head start, Seto! Because when I catch you, we're going to have a long talk on proper nutrition!"

"But…you came here malnourished," the brunet argued in return.

"That's because I didn't have the money or resources to get a proper meal. Now that I do, I'm going to make sure you and Mokuba are properly fed."

"Then how about you feed us rather than lecture us," Seto offered quickly.

Joey paused. "Smartass," he mumbled as he strode in front of the brunet.

Seto's smirk was finally back. "Aww, did I hurt the Puppy's feelings?"

"Not if the Dragon kisses his Puppy better," Joey said, turning to smile sweetly at him.

He put his arms around Joey's waist and pulled him into a kiss. "All better now?"

"All better," said Joey, hugging Seto happily. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Hey, what are you laughing about?" Seto asked, puzzled by Joey's sudden laughing fit.

"I was just thinking about this little interaction."

"What about it?"

"Well, when we do go all the way in the physical aspect of our relationship, I wonder how cheesy our role-playing will be."

Now Seto was really confused. "Role-playing? What do you mean by role-playing?"

Apparently Joey wasn't the only one who was innocent. "Are you joking?"

"No."

Joey grinned like an idiot then. Enlightening Seto on the subject was going to be fun!

* * *

**End Chapter**


	14. 2nd Thursday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 14 – Thursday**

"Shit," Bakura cursed under his breath as he stared into the vacant apartment. The man's mind had been a lot stronger than he had anticipated, and now that he was gone, things would undoubtedly head for the worst.

Bakura quickly made his way out of the dingy apartment, taking steps two at a time as he whipped out his cell phone—one of the only modern inventions he found useful. After a few rings, Ryou soon picked up.

"_Bakura, where are you? You've been gone since yesterday. I've been worried sick_," Ryou scolded from the other end.

"You can question me about that later. Right now, we have a very big problem. Call Yugi and tell him to get everyone to the Game Shop, _including _Joey," retorted Bakura.

"_But…we don't know where he is._"

"Yugi will. Trust me. I'll meet you there in a bit." And with that, Bakura shut his phone, placing it back into his pocket.

He hoped that Joey would forgive him. But if only the blond had been honest with him, this might not have happened.

* * *

Seto and Joey sat on the couch, idly watching a movie, but both didn't seem too interested in it. They were too lost in their thoughts.

"Hey, Pup?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you…love Noah?" Seto asked, turning his tentative gaze to Joey.

The blond was quite surprised by the question. Did he love Noah? "Not in the sense you might be thinking. I did love him, but more like a brother and a friend…not a…lover. Never a lover."

"If he had lived, do you think you would have—"

"Fallen in love with him?" Joey finished. "I don't know. And I don't think I would have had much of a choice in the matter in terms of lovers. It was either going to be me with Noah…or Gozaburo. At least Noah was kind, but I could never have loved him like that. At least I don't think so. Our relationship might have grown stronger over time."

"Did he love you?" Seto's voice came out like a hoarse whisper.

"I think he loved me. He never said it, though. He had a more of a…physical way of showing how he felt. But if Noah hadn't died and Gozaburo hadn't spontaneously adopted you and Mokuba, we might have never met. In a sadistic sort of way, I'm glad Noah did die…because it brought me to you."

Seto felt his heart skip a beat to his Puppy's deep confession. He was about to respond when Mokuba entered the room holding the phone.

"Joey? Yugi wants to talk to you. He says it's urgent," announced Mokuba, handing him the phone.

The blond took it apprehensively and walked out of the room for a little privacy.

Seto turned toward Mokuba after Joey left. "Did Yugi say what he wanted?"

"Not really. He just sounded…frantic. He wants everyone at the Game Shop as soon as possible," explained Mokuba.

Just then, Joey returned to the room looking uneasy.

"What's wrong, Puppy? Is everything okay?" Seto asked, concerned.

"Bakura wants everyone at the Game Shop. He says we have a very big problem."

"Bakura?" Now Seto was really confused.

"He said I need to be there, too. At least that's what Ryou told Yugi." What if Bakura had found out the truth? He'd know that he'd lied to him. Joey wasn't sure if he could face Bakura if that's what this was about.

"Why would Bakura need you to be there?" questioned Seto suspiciously. "And don't lie to me."

"Bakura found me one time…after I'd taken a pretty bad beating from my dad. I told him that I got in a gang fight. He looked like he didn't believe me, but he didn't ask me anything else. Instead, he helped me get cleaned up. He took me to Ryou's place, but Ryou wasn't there. Bakura fed me and gave me a place to stay for the night. He's…kind of been looking out for me ever since, like an overbearing older brother."

"And you're nervous about this meeting because he might have discovered you lied to him?" continued Seto.

"Yes…and what Bakura might have done. Everyone else is going to be there, Seto. I don't know if I can handle this right now."

"Puppy, I'll be right there with you."

"Me too," added Mokuba.

"Okay," Joey conceded. "As long you're there, I should be fine."

* * *

Joey sighed and steeled himself for the worst. By the looks of things, everyone was inside the Game Shop except for him, Seto, and Mokuba.

"You can go in any time now. We've been standing here for five minutes already," quipped Seto. He was aggravated, but that was mostly due to the idea of confronting Joey's friends again.

"Seto—"

"Look," the brunet interrupted. "If you don't like the way things are going, we'll just leave. All right?"

"Yeah," Joey muttered before he opened the door.

As soon as he stepped inside, everyone grew quiet. But as soon as Seto and Mokuba followed, mostly everyone who was there erupted simultaneously. Apparently Yugi had told them that Katsuya was Joey. And that didn't seem to be going over too well.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Seto roared, silencing them immediately. He wasn't about to put up with any of their nonsense. "Now, what the hell did you want Joey for?"

"Wait, where's Bakura?" the blond asked suddenly.

"Joey, I haven't heard from Bakura for at least two hours," answered Ryou. "He's not answering his cell.

Joey froze. That meant—

"What is _with_ you?" Tristan blurted.

The blond's eyes focused on his friend. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"That!" Tristan exclaimed, pointing at Joey accusingly. "Why are you talking like that? Did that bastard brainwash you or something?"

Joey's eyes narrowed dangerously. "That _bastard_ just so happens to be my boyfriend."

"What?" gasped Tea.

"You mean it's true?" added Duke.

"Yes. And if you have a problem with that then I suggest you get lost," stated Joey.

Yugi and Yami stood there mutely, astonished by their friend's behavior. Tristan just looked baffled, Tea seemed unsure, Ryou remained indifferent, and Duke just stared.

But before anyone could respond, the sound of the door opening brought them out of their stupor. Bakura entered the Game Shop, Malik and Marik flanking him.

"You lied to me," announced Bakura, glaring at Joey. "Why didn't you tell me the truth? I could have helped you! You could have stayed with Ryou and me!" Bakura's voice started to sound pained.

"I'm sorry," Joey replied hoarsely. "I didn't want anyone to know."

"I could have helped you!" shouted Bakura, his face mere inches from Joey's. "Other than Ryou, you're the only other person I care about. You're like the annoying little brother I never wanted to have," he whispered, his voice shrouded in hurt and sarcasm.

"Bakura, I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to put anyone in danger. Even you," implored Joey.

"Well it's too late for that now," growled Bakura.

"Bakura? What did you do?" Joey inquired fearfully. "What did you do?"

Bakura suddenly looked uneasy. "I made a mistake. When you mentioned that Kaiba was helping you, I decided to look into why that might be. I soon discovered that your father was hurting you."

Joey squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that what he was about to ask next wouldn't receive the answer he dreaded most. "Then what?"

"I found him. I infiltrated his mind. I got a fairly decent grasp of his memories…what he's done, but…"

"But what?"

"His mind overpowered my control. He broke free and ran off. I can't find him. He's fallen off the grid. I've asked Malik and Marik to come here to help me locate him. I want you and the others to stay here until I fetch you."

"He's…gone?" A new panic seized Joey like never before. If his father had truly fallen off the rid…where would he go? And what was he doing now?

Seto frowned, not liking this idea. "I can have everyone stay at the mansion if you're that worried. I have the security to—"

"That won't help," Joey cut in. "My father knows every nook and cranny of that place. He could get by security easily enough."

"Does your father have any contacts?" asked Bakura. "That might help narrow down our search."

"I don't think—" Joey's eyes widened in sudden realization. There was one person whom had known Gozaburo just as long as his father. And this person now served under Seto, but was he loyal to him?

"Is there someone we should know about, Puppy?" Seto inquired. He was not favoring the ghastly pale expression Joey currently had.

Turning amber eyes on Seto, the blond stated in one breath, "Roland."

"What?"

"Roland. My father knows Roland. They were friends when they both worked for Gozaburo. He might go to him, but I don't know."

"Then we'll check it out," stated Bakura, making ready to leave the Game Shop with Malik and Marik in tow. "And stay here," reiterated Bakura. "All of you."

When the three finally left, Joey stared at the floor. Well, he might as well start by telling his friends the truth.

It was going to be a long night…and a sleepless one at that.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	15. 3rd Friday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 15 – Friday**

Rain.

That's what Joey saw as he glanced out the window in the early hours of the morning. It was still somewhat dark—not even dawn—but the pitter-pattering on raindrops on the window were hard to ignore. It felt as if each beat from the rain on the glass counted down the remaining peace he had left before Bakura returned.

But Joey also wished that he could stand out in the rain and let it just wash away everything; his fears, his troubles, gathering in a puddle beneath his feet as the cool drops cleansed his body was fantastical in nature, but so dear to his wanting.

However, Joey was inside the Game Shop nestled between Seto and Mokuba, the rest of his friends snoozing away the morning in ignorance. They had no worries. Not like him. And yet, when he'd told his friends his story—the whole story—they hadn't turned their backs on him. In fact, they'd been quite accepting and understanding, much to his relief.

But today was a different day. Bakura would return, bearing news of his father's whereabouts. Joey wasn't sure whether he wanted to know where his father was or not. Either way, it couldn't be good.

Suddenly, the door opened to the shop, the ping announcing someone's arrival. Even in the darkness, Joey could make out Bakura's form. Wriggling out from between Seto and Mokuba, the blond all but raced toward the former thief, eager to know what he'd found.

"Bakura, did you—"

"Wake everyone up," Bakura interrupted. "We have a very serious problem."

Joey felt his stomach drop. A problem? What kind of problem? His father was practically harmless to other people. The only time he was a threat was when he—

"He's sobered up, hasn't he? Where is he?" Joey asked, eyes wide.

"We need to wake everyone first. Kaiba will want to hear this especially." And as Bakura moved off to start waking the others, Joey turned to do the same.

"Seto? Wake up. Bakura's back."

"Hm? Puppy?" came Seto's groggy voice.

"Bakura's back. He said he needs to tell us something. There's a problem."

"What kind of problem?" Seto was fully awake now.

"I don't know," Joey replied worriedly. "And I don't think I want to."

"It'll be all right, Puppy," Seto said comfortingly, taking the blond's hand. "Now let's go see what Bakura's discovered."

Joey nodded slowly before waking up Mokuba. And after some grumbling about wanting breakfast from the small boy, the three headed for the center of the Game Shop where Bakura was waiting impatiently.

"What's going on?" Seto demanded almost immediately.

"And where are Malik and Marik?" inquired Ryou.

Bakura crossed his arms and frowned. "Malik and Marik are keeping an eye on things while I fill all of you in on the situation."

"And what situation would that be?" asked Seto.

"Joey's father is at your company, Kaiba. Or rather, underneath it. He's more sober now than I think he's ever been. His brain is working like a machine."

"What the fuck is that man doing anywhere _near_ my company?"

"Roland just so happened to take him there," Bakura quipped.

"What are they doing?" Seto was just about ready to blow a fuse. What the hell was Roland up to? What was he thinking?

Bakura paused, staring at the floor. There was no way to reveal this news lightly. No way in hell. "They're going to revive Gozaburo Kaiba."

Everyone gasped, but no one was in shock more than Joey.

"No. No, no, no. They can't—he can't…he can't do that," the blond mumbled, looking ready to run.

"That's impossible," Seto stated matter-of-factly. "Gozaburo is dead."

"Oh, no!" Joey exclaimed, realization hitting him. "He preserved his body. Like he did with Noah."

"Exactly," conceded Bakura. "And if you want your precious company to remain yours then I suggest we do something about it."

Seto couldn't believe what he was hearing. Gozaburo? Back? But something didn't make sense. Turning to Joey, he asked, "Why would your father help revive Gozaburo?"

Joey's face became blank. "To make a deal."

Seto's eyes narrowed. "What kind of deal?" His voice sounded deadly.

"What does my father want more than anything? And what would he be willing to give for it?" replied Joey.

The rest of the group seemed puzzled, but Seto caught on quicker than Joey had expected.

"Like hell he's selling you to him," Seto spat. Rounding on Bakura, he growled, "Where are they?"

"They're underneath the company. There's a hidden doorway that leads to an underground facility. They hope to revive him…and destroy your company," Bakura answered slowly.

A dangerous aura seemed to resonate in the room and it was coming from none other than Seto Kaiba.

"I will not allow this to happen. Gozaburo will remain dead and Roland and that despicable excuse of a man will be put away for life! No one, and I mean no one, threatens me, my family, or my company. I worked too hard just to lose everything. Anyone who wants to mess with what is mine has to deal with me."

Joey had to admit that Seto's speech was convincing, but he was hurt that the brunet hadn't mentioned him. After everything they'd been through…

"Puppy? I want you and Mokuba to stay here," announced Seto, drawing Joey from his thoughts.

"What? No!" the blond protested.

"Please listen to me," Seto begged. "I don't want to have to worry about you and Mokuba while trying to stop them. You two are my life. I love you. You know that right? You two are my only family."

Joey's heart warmed at that, but he wasn't going to sit around and wait for anything. "I love you, too. But I am not going to stay. I'm coming with you. If you leave me behind, I swear I'll just come after you."

Seto sighed. He knew Joey would stay true to his words, so he relented. "All right, but everyone else stays."

"No! I want to help!" declared Yugi.

"No," Seto said firmly. "I'd feel a lot better if the rest of you would stay behind. If something goes wrong…I can't bear the thought of anyone getting hurt because of Gozaburo. Just stay here and take care of Mokuba while we're gone. Please."

Hearing such a heartfelt confession from the normally stoic CEO won them over. Agreeing to stay, Bakura, Joey, and Seto soon set off for Kaiba Corp.

* * *

"Everything's almost ready," announced Roland as he bustled to and fro from computer to computer.

"Good, good," muttered Justin Wheeler anxiously. He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. The sooner Gozaburo revived, the sooner he'd be able to make his deal and vanish. "How long is this going take?"

"I'm activating the machine now. I'd say Master Kaiba will be revived completely within the hour."

"Good, good," repeated Justin, staring at the still form of Gozaburo, who was currently laying on an examination table, IVs and wires sticking out of his body in varying places. It was just a matter of time, time Justin wished would move by quickly.

* * *

"It's about time you three showed up," said Marik. "They've already started the procedure."

"How long ago?" asked Bakura.

"About forty minutes or so," answered Malik.

"Why the hell didn't you stop them?" snapped Seto. Couldn't these two do anything right?

"Well, I'm so sorry, Mr. Kaiba," Malik replied snidely. "We can't get in. That's what we need you for. We can't risk the chance of setting anything off, so we've been observing. You'll have to bypass the security."

"And besides, if he really does get revived, you can always push him through a window again," mumbled Marik.

"What was that?" Seto glared at the two of them. How dare they—

"This is no time to be messing around," Joey said finally, a glare on his face that rivaled Seto's own. "Let's get inside Kaiba Corp. then you guys show us where we need to go."

The two nodded, leading the three into the building, Seto mere inches behind them.

After they traversed to the lowest level of the company, Marik pointed to a small panel which seemed to be built into the wall. And that's just what it looked like: a wall. If it weren't for the flashing lights on the panel, no one would have noticed anything.

"That's it?" inquired Seto.

"That's it," replied Malik.

Seto stepped up to the panel and eyed it precariously. It wasn't his design; he knew that. But it looked familiar somehow. Where had he seen it before?

"It's like the one at the mansion," blurted Joey suddenly.

"Hm? What do you mean, Pup?"

"That's the security system for the mansion. It's identical."

"Are you sure?"

Joey nodded. "I would know. My father installed them."

"Do you know how to access them? The code? Anything?"

"I don't know the code," the blond began, "but I know how to deactivate it. At least I think I do."

"Well, give it a shot. If it doesn't work, we can always wait until they come out," said Bakura.

Joey took a deep breath and approached the panel. If he knew anything about his father, it was that he was as simple as could be. His memory wasn't all that great, so a password or code would be astonishingly simple, like—

"Ah, what the hell," Joey sighed, punching in the code 1-2-3-4. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for some sort of blaring alarm or something. When sirens weren't screaming at him, he hesitantly opened his eyes, only to see the panel light up green.

He had access! All he had to do now was open the door.

"Good job, Puppy," whispered Seto, stepping in front Joey. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

Seto braced himself and opened the door. The sight that met his gaze nearly floored him.

Gozaburo stood in the center of the room, fully dressed in a suit as he worked at his tie. He looked just as he did all those years ago. Roland and Justin flanked him, appearing quite appalled that the group of them had made it inside. Gozaburo, however, seemed oblivious to this.

"It's good to see you again, Seto," Gozaburo announced in his deep and dire tone. The old man's eyes locked with Seto's, who stood there motionlessly. "I see you brought company. Would you care to introduce them?"

"Joey? What the hell are you doing here?" exclaimed Justin, realizing for the first time that his son was present.

Gozaburo's attention soon found its way to Joey. When their gazes caught, he smiled. "Joey," he said, joy filling his voice. "My, it has been quite some time hasn't it? Come here and let me take a good look at you."

"I don't think so," Seto ground out, standing in front of Joey protectively.

This action took Gozaburo by surprise. He'd never seen the brunet act in that way unless it was for his brother. A weird glint found its way into Gozaburo's eyes when he put two and two together.

"What a small world we live in," started Gozaburo. "Who would have thought that you, Seto, would be with my sweet, little Joey."

"I am not yours and never will be!" yelled the blond, stepping out from behind Seto's protective stance.

"Now hold on just a minute!" roared Justin, pulling something from his coat. He aimed it at Joey. It was a gun. "Nobody moves until I get what I want…or I'll start shooting."

They all froze. Joey, better than anyone, knew how good of a shot his father was; his aim was impeccable.

"Put the gun away, Justin," warned Gozaburo, his eyes glued to the man's finger. It wasn't on the trigger. Not yet, anyway. "Let's discuss this."

Justin laughed shrewdly. "Discuss what?" he spat. "I want to make a deal. If I don't get my deal…well, you know how it'll go."

"What do you want?" questioned Seto, hoping to find a chance to get the gun away from the man. If he could distract him long enough, maybe he could get the gun.

"The deal isn't with you. It's with him," said Justin, indicating Gozaburo.

"Well, what is it you want?"

"I want five million. Cash."

"And what do I receive in return?"

"My son," replied Justin.

"Like hell!" Seto roared, taking a few steps toward the man.

"Ah, ah, ah. Stay or I shoot!" Justin retaliated, raising his voice and waving the gun.

"You will _not _take Joey away from me," Seto said coldly.

"That's not your decision to make!" he screamed, losing what little patience he had. "Ah, screw the damn deal!" He turned his gun on Joey. "Bye, son."

Time seemed to move in slow motion at that point. And Seto didn't have time to react. It happened too quickly.

Two shots rang out…and all Seto saw was Joey hit the floor.

He wasn't moving.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	16. 3rd Saturday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 16 – Saturday**

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba. We couldn't save him. The gunshot hit a vital organ. Mr. Wheeler didn't have a chance," announced the doctor. He currently stood in front of Seto in the waiting room.

The brunet's expression remained emotionless, but he nodded slightly, indicating that he'd heard him.

"If you need anything, feel free to ask," said the doctor.

As the man left, Roland slowly approached Seto. "I am truly sorry that it had to end this way. I know that—"

"Leave," Seto whispered breathlessly. "Just…leave."

"As you wish, sir," Roland replied, bowing as he made his leave.

When Seto was alone, the brunet made his way over to a chair, plopped himself down, and buried his face in his hands.

This was all wrong. This wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. And yet…Seto couldn't bring himself to understand just what he should be feeling right now. He didn't know whether he wanted to cry or have a nervous breakdown.

"Mr. Kaiba?" came the soft voice of a woman.

Seto raised his head to locate the sound of the soothing voice. It was a nurse.

"Mr. Kaiba, someone is awake and ready to see you," she said sweetly.

"Thank you," he mumbled as he bolted from his seat. He raced to the room he'd been waiting to enter since yesterday.

"What took you so long to get here?" a raspy voice called from the room.

Seto stepped inside, shut the door, walked over to the bed, pulled the patient into his arms, and kissed him. "Puppy, I thought I lost you," the brunet said through his tears as he lowered himself to the bed.

Joey clung to him desperately. "I thought you lost me, too. What happened? Where was I shot?"

"Joey…you weren't shot," Seto explained.

The blond's brows knitted in confusion. "But I heard the gun…and my body aches everywhere."

"You weren't shot," repeated Seto.

"But someone else was?" When the brunet only nodded, Joey continued. "Please tell me what happened."

"It all happened so quickly. I didn't have time to react."

"Seto, slow down. Just take your time."

Taking a deep breath, the brunet started to explain what happened. "When your father snapped, his finger moved to the trigger, and since the gun was aimed at you, he was going to shoot you, but…"

Joey grabbed his hand. "But what?"

"Gozaburo jumped in at the last second. He took the shot. He saved you. It was just when your father fired the gun that Roland pulled out his own and…and shot your father."

Seto felt more than heard Joey inhale sharply. "Seto? What happened to them?" The blond's voice was barely discernable, it was so soft.

"Gozaburo died within minutes of being shot. The force of the impact caused him to hit you backward; you slammed into the wall. It knocked you out cold. As Gozaburo lay dying, he said he was sorry for what we'd been through, and he told me that I had his blessing. He hoped…we would be happy together."

"Why would—"

"Roland said that it had always been their plan to catch your father. After he killed Noah and your father disappeared with you, Gozaburo had been obsessed with getting his revenge. I suppose now…he got what he wanted."

"What do you mean?" asked Joey, his eyes watery with unshed tears.

"Roland's shot hit one of your father's vital organs. The doctor said he didn't have a chance. They couldn't save him. Joey, your father is dead," Seto answered as carefully as he could. He wasn't sure what sort of reaction he'd receive from the blond.

Joey didn't know what to feel. He was both saddened and relieved that his father was gone. And he didn't know whether he felt like laughing or crying, so he ended up doing both, although, it was a hollow sound.

"He's gone?" Joey cried.

"He's gone. Your father's gone."

"So is yours," the blond commented leisurely. "We've both lost our fathers. But this time, it's permanent."

Seto didn't have to ask what Joey meant, because he already knew. Gozaburo and Justin were gone for good. They would never hurt anyone ever again.

Sure, they had probably been two of the most twisted parents on the face of the planet, but regardless of this, there always seemed to be a place—deep, deep down—where a child would always feel something akin to love for them. But now that they were gone, so was the feeling.

"We'll hold a service for them—the both of them—on Wednesday. I'll make all of the arrangements," stated Seto a little more formally. Joey guessed that was just the way he dealt with things.

"Okay," the blond replied gently. "Can we go home now? I think…no, I _need_ to call my mother and tell her what's happened."

"Sure," said Seto, rising from the bed. He gave Joey a loving kiss on his temple. "I'll go pay the bill and we'll go home."

After the brunet left, Joey stared at the hospital blankets and sighed. He was going to have to call his mother. Well, at least that was the easy part. Stopping her from hanging up on him was another story entirely.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	17. 3rd Sunday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 17 – Sunday**

Joey stood out on one of the many balconies of the Kaiba Mansion and overlooked the vast garden below. With it being spring, he noticed that many of the plants—both foreign and not—coming into full bloom. It was peaceful…and a gentle reminder of what had happened the day before.

Yesterday had gone smoother than Joey had expected. After returning to the mansion, Seto had made the call he'd promised and arranged for a service for both Gozaburo and his father. The plots for their burial had been chosen and everything was good to go for this coming Wednesday.

With the arrangements being made, Joey had ventured off into his own solitary place so that he could make the call he'd dreaded for most of his life. He had to call his mother.

As he'd dialed the number, a lump had made its way to his throat, preventing him from uttering a sound. And after a few rings, the phone had been answered…and his sister, Serenity, had been the one to answer the phone.

Joey couldn't have wished for anything better to happen. While he struggled to inform his sister of their father's death, Serenity had also told their mother, who'd walked in on the phone call. Serenity had then told him that she and their mother would be there by Tuesday in time for the service on Wednesday.

With that all said and done, Joey had hung up the phone…and cried. He was going to see his mother and sister, but he wasn't sure how things would pan out. He'd just have to wait and see. The blond really hoped that things would turn out for the better for once and not the worst.

But today was a different day. He felt relaxed and at peace. Nothing could interrupt his moment of tranquility.

"Puppy? We need to talk."

Okay. So maybe that _might_ damper his serene moment for a bit.

"About what?"

"I know that this probably isn't the best time for this—and I don't mean to intrude on your privacy—I know you need some space now and all, but…we still have our Social Behavior Project to finish. It's due tomorrow," Seto rambled anxiously.

Joey remained staring out into the garden, a small smirk on his face that Seto couldn't see. Leave it to the brunet to witness his adoptive father dying—again—and he was worried about school. That was Seto for you.

"What did you want to do about it? This whole thing started out with you wanting me to be your guinea pig, but now…so much has changed," Joey replied softly.

"I know what you mean," said Seto, approaching the blond from behind and embracing him, the blond's back resting against his chest. "I think we've both changed somewhat. My original plan had been to present you in class with a complete makeover accompanied by perfect speech and an essay on how I got you there."

"And now?" asked Joey, curious.

"And now, you ruined all my hard work," Seto chuckled.

"Gee, I feel so loved," Joey teased.

The brunet sighed. "You are loved. Very much, in fact," he mumbled, leaning down to plant kisses on his Puppy's neck.

Joey shrugged. "Please, Seto. Not today. I'd love nothing more than to have a hot make-out session, but there's still too much going on and I'm about to be a nervous wreck."

"That's fine," Seto said. "So, my genius Puppy, any ideas for what we're going to do for our project?"

The blond pondered the question for a moment before his eyes lit up with an idea. "What if we somehow tweak our project a bit and turn it into a piece on emotional intelligence?"

"That seems like a bit of a leap. Where are you going with this?"

Joey pulled away from Seto so that he could look at him. "Have you ever read the book _Emotional Intelligence _by Daniel Goleman?" After the brunet nodded, he continued. "Well, our project will still be on Social Behavior, but we can have a focus on emotional intelligence. That way, both of us can show our sides of how we act. Not just one of us."

"So you want us to present varying ways that different people respond to certain situations? Am I to assume that you want to speak about ways of knowing?"

"Yes. Not all of them, just…three: spiritual, rational, and imaginative," explained Joey.

"You really are hitting all the bases, aren't you?"

Joey chuckled when he noticed the frown on Seto. "Hey, it's not like we're going to change how people think of _you_. You're still the same person you've always been. We're just going to put it into perspective for everyone else."

Seto seemed to think on this for a moment before he responded. "Fine. We'll do it. I'm just glad our schedules are flipped when we go back to school tomorrow. That means we have Psychology first period. We'll be able to get it over with as soon as we get to school."

"You really _do _hate psychology, don't you?" Joey asked, quite amused.

"They're idiots in my opinion. They try advising you when they only have a shallow view of who you are. They don't see every aspect of your life or what you go through. Then they want you to tell them what happened to you so that they can tell you what to do. And if that doesn't work, they prescribe medication. It's a waste of time."

Joey wrapped his arms around Seto's waist and held him close. "That's the beauty of having a confidant. You can tell them anything and they won't judge you."

"Are you saying you're my confidant?"

"Only if you want me to be. And speaking of confidants, I have something to confide in you."

"What's that?"

"After school tomorrow, can we…I need to go back to my father's apartment."

Seto tensed. "Why? You have everything you need here. You don't need to go back."

"I don't _want _to go back, but I need to. There are a few sentimental items I need to pick up," Joey replied slowly.

"All right." The brunet gave in. "We'll both go tomorrow after school, but we'll need to bring Mokuba along. Tomorrow's an early day for us, so we get out about the same time he does."

Joey's expression became strange and Seto couldn't quite figure out what it was. But then it was gone. And a happy expression now took its place. The brunet knew it was fake, but perhaps he would discover what it all meant tomorrow.

"Let's go work on our project now," urged the blond, leading Seto away from the balcony.

"Sure, Pup. Let's go," he agreed distantly.

Was Joey afraid of him and Mokuba being at his previous place of residence? If so, why? Didn't he know that they cared about him deeply? They would _never _turn on him for any reason. Wasn't he aware of that?

Time would only tell.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	18. 3rd Monday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 18 – Monday**

"Are you sure I should be wearing this today, Seto?" Joey asked, looking down at what he was dressed in. He wore black slacks, matching dress shoes, and a crimson silk dress shirt.

"Absolutely. You are part of the project, after all," replied Seto as he desperately tried to resist touching his Puppy in a naughty way. What? He couldn't help it if his Puppy looked…drool worthy. It wasn't _his_ fault! Honest! It was his damn hormones.

"Would you stop staring at my ass already?" snapped Joey, who was now blushing furiously. "This is neither the time nor place for you to—"

"Hi, Joey! Kaiba!" announced Yugi as he raced over to the two of them in the schoolyard.

"Hey, Yugi," replied Joey as he glared at Seto.

"Um…I'm sorry about your father," Yugi stammered. "I wish there was something I could do—"

"It's all right, Yugi. You being my friend and being here for me is enough."

Yugi beamed, feeling much better by his friend's kind words. "So are you ready for class this morning? You're presenting, right?"

"Yes, we are…unfortunately," muttered Seto.

Joey rolled his eyes. "Let's just get to class," groaned the blond, already feeling exhausted. Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Welcome back, class," droned Mr. Sanforth, their oh-so-lovely Psychology teacher. "It's nice to see all of you here in once piece."

Seto felt his eye twitch. He hated teachers, especially ones who assigned pointless projects like—

"Ow!" he hissed. He turned and glared at his attacker. "What the hell was that for?"

"Stop giving him the death glare," stated Joey.

"Why should I?"

"One, it doesn't faze him, and two, it has yet to kill people, so just cut it out already."

"And since Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Kaiba appear quite anxious to talk, perhaps the two of you should present your project first?" cut in Mr. Sanforth.

Seto's death glare was back in full force now. But before he could say a word, Joey cut in.

"All right. We're coming," said Joey, rising from his seat.

Mr. Sanforth—as well as most of the students—did a double take. Not only did Joey look different today, he sounded different…at least to the majority of the people in the classroom.

"Right," started Mr. Sanforth. "The two of you can come on up here and give your presentation."

They went to the front of the classroom where Joey began. "Our Social Behavior Project is on Emotional Intelligence, which lays the foundation for a person to be able to recognize, understand, and explain their own emotions. At least, that's what Daniel Goleman, author of _Emotional Intelligence_, tells us."

"When a person's emotions blind or obstruct their decision making and/or how they act toward others, more turmoil is added to the mix. By incorporating spiritual, rational, and/or imaginative ways of knowing into these emotionally over-stimulated situations, one can succeed in taking control over their emotions," added Seto.

"A few examples for using spiritual ways of knowing to overcome emotions," continued Joey, "are through religion, nature, and meditation. Using religion to overcome passive and aggressive behavior in relationships can be done if both parties are willing to do so.

"For example, Daniel Goleman says that, 'habitual criticism and contempt or disgust are danger signs because they indicate that a husband or wife has made a silent judgment for the worse about their partner.' Goleman continues, saying that 'as a habitual response, stonewalling is devastating to the health of a relationship: it cuts off all possibility of working out disagreements.' Religion sets the foundation for equality between the sexes and serves as a means to take on any challenge. In a rocky relationship, both parties can result to prayer and/or speaking with whatever entity they believe in. This provides people with something to fall back on when they feel at a loss and do not know what to do anymore."

"People can also use nature, or natural settings, as a means to ease their anxiety," said Seto. "Goleman states that 'the worrying mind spins on in an endless loop of low-grade melodrama, one set of concerns leading on to the next and back again.' As a person takes their mind off of their fears and focuses on something else, such as a tree or a bird—even Duel Monsters—the anxiety lessens because the person's attention is not fixated on the threat anymore.

"This also falls under the category of meditation. By separating one's mind from their active thoughts and concentrating solely on breathing, mostly everything that threatened one's peace of mind slowly fades. One must choose to use this method and be adamant in doing so. Furthermore, taking the time to empty one's mind and worrying about tomorrow the following day may relieve stress as well."

"The second method people can use to ease their overworked emotions is through a rational way of knowing," Joey stated seriously. "Most people do not think rationally when overcome with emotions.

"For example, some behavioral skills may be beneficial in this case. One aspect of the rational way of knowing is to be open to different sources of knowledge, yet being cautious toward bad reasoning. A person can be open to an argument through certain verbal and nonverbal communication skills.

"According to Goleman, in nonverbal communication, a person can use eye contact, facial expressions, different tones of voice, and gestures. Non-defensive listening is important here. Goleman also points out that with verbal communication, an individual can focus on listening to others empathically without thinking about what they want to say before the other person is finished speaking, resisting negative influences, and making clear requests."

"Goleman continues to say the emotional and the rational mind 'operate in tight harmony for the most part, intertwining their very different ways of knowing to guide us through the world;' the overall purpose of the rational mind is to refine and sometimes veto the inputs of the emotions. This is quite a difficult task because one must manage their feelings in order to continue thinking rationally," finished Seto.

"The final method that may be used to overcome some emotions is through the imaginative way of knowing. For instance, in the game Purdy played by the children in Goleman's _Emotional Intelligence_, the children changed the outcome of the tragedy. Instead, the children kill Purdy, thus 'boosting their sense of mastery over that traumatic moment of helplessness.' In other words, a person can use their imagination to change what really happened in order to retrain their emotional brain," continued Joey.

"By doing so, individuals are able to make themselves feel stronger about what originally happened and they feel in control of themselves. However, this is not always easy. Joseph LeDoux, quoted from Goleman's _Emotional Intelligence_, says that 'once your emotional system learns something, it seems to never let it go.' People who suffer from this type of trauma can use art, writing, and mental imagery to try and gain control over their distress and fear," added Seto. "Using imagination helps. It is almost as if one is tricking their mind into thinking or believing something else in order to overcome a trauma."

"Goleman states that through using the spiritual, rational, and imaginative ways of knowing, individuals can become emotionally self-aware, manage their emotions, harness those emotions productively, read emotions empathically, and handle relationships. Spirituality provides a backbone or something to fall back on; it provides hope when a person feels lost and out of control.

"Ration, which is the hardest to maintain, allows people to listen better to others and take on another's perspective. Imagination helps develop 'a repertoire of empathic response.' Sometimes people, especially children, can imitate how others react, such as reacting to distress. Placing one's reactions into another's mind can assist in overcoming strong emotions that harm individuals," said Joey.

"Overall, _Emotional Intelligence_ deals greatly in emotion and one can definitely identify the instances where spiritual, rational, and imaginative ways of knowing can help a person in overcoming dire and somewhat traumatic circumstances. There is no guarantee that any of these methods will work and if individuals are unwilling to attempt these methods, their situations may worsen," concluded Seto. "Knowing what one is feeling and why one reacts the way they do is the first step in inducing positive health-related behavioral change. To observe one's own self outside of what one is feeling helps to analyze and change how one reacts emotionally. The process is not easy, but it is a beneficial one."

"Thank you. And that is our Social Behavior Project on Emotional Intelligence," finished Joey.

"That—was—marvelous!" crowed Mr. Sanforth. "In all my years—you—you both get A's for this project! Congratulations! Let's give them a round of applause, ladies and gentlemen!"

Seto and Joey, unused to an exuberant Mr. Sanforth—which seemed to be the mutual feeling of their classmates—scurried to their seats as quickly as possible.

Apparently, they had done well…really well. Perhaps today wouldn't be such a bad day after all.

* * *

"You guys don't have to come with me, you know." Joey spoke softly as the limo approached the abandoned-looking apartment complex.

Seto inwardly cringed when he eyed the place through the window. He almost felt like he'd have to get a Tetanus shot from just looking at it. "We're coming with you," the brunet said finally. "I don't trust you going in there alone."

"You…don't trust me?" Joey inquired, confused.

"What I mean to say, Puppy, is that I don't want you going in there alone. I don't trust anything about this place and who may reside in it, so we're coming with you. Understood?"

"Fine," Joey grumbled as he got out of the limo. "Hurry up then."

Seto was a little taken aback by the blond's brash attitude, but he let it slide for now. As soon as he and Mokuba were out of the limo, they noticed that Joey had already headed into the place.

"Come on, Mokuba. I want to see why Joey doesn't want us here."

"Why would Joey not want us here?" asked Mokuba.

"I think he might be embarrassed by his social status and where he was reduced to living. Perhaps he believes that if we see how he's lived that we'll throw him out or something."

"But we wouldn't do that!" Mokuba protested heartily.

"I know we wouldn't," Seto agreed, picking up his pace so that he wouldn't lose sight of his Puppy, "but I don't think Joey does."

Mokuba didn't know how to respond to that. He thought Joey trusted them, loved them even. He was already looking up to the blond as another older brother, so why would he be ashamed over something he'd had no control over?

Seto was barely a step behind Joey once he finally caught up with him. And the more they proceeded through the apartment complex, the more the brunet couldn't believe how Joey had lived. How on earth could the blond have put up with this for so long? It looked like they were walking through some third world country that was desperately in need of assistance.

"Here we are," Joey announced suddenly. "You guys stay out here. I won't be long."

"Too bad," said Seto, brushing past the blond and into the trashed apartment. "We're not waiting out there."

The brunet's eyes panned the apartment in disgust. Broken beer bottles and cigarettes littered nearly every available surface. The furniture was broken, the carpet unkempt; it was filthy. If the living room was this bad, he didn't want to even think about the kitchen, let alone the bathroom.

"Where's your room?" Mokuba had entered the apartment and was now looking at Joey curiously.

The blond hesitated before walking silently over to a broken door near the end of the small hallway. He stared at the splintered door blankly. Apparently his father had broken into his room when he made his escape a little more than two weeks ago.

Had it really been that long? Was there even anything left in his so-called room? And what if Seto and Mokuba wanted to see? What would they think?

Seto noticed his Puppy's change in demeanor. He'd gone from uneasy to upset in a matter of seconds.

"Puppy, everything's going to be okay. Go get your things," he urged him soothingly.

The blond took a deep breath and pushed open the broken door, stepping into the room slowly. He glanced around the room, somewhat relieved that it looked exactly as he'd left it.

"This is your room?" Mokuba exclaimed, eyes widening in shock. "But…there's no bed or…_anything_."

Joey winced. It was true. There was barely anything in here. What he called his bed was really just a small space on the floor with a flat pillow and raggedy blanket with holes in it. His closet was just a beaten up cardboard box. His most precious items were hidden underneath the floorboards underneath said box.

Seto had been grounded by the sight. His Puppy had lived like this? How the hell had he survived like this for so long?

"Home, sweet home," Joey mumbled as he walked over to the cardboard box and pushing it aside. Fiddling around with the floorboards, he removed them and pulled out a tattered brown bag. After he put the floorboards back in place, he rose. "We can go now."

Suddenly two pairs of arms found their way around him, hugging him tightly.

"Puppy, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was like this. If I'd known, I never would have teased you so much."

"It's okay, Seto. You didn't know. No one did. It was always my little secret. That's why I tried to spend the night at my friends' as much as I could. Seto, you're not…disgusted by me, are you?"

"Joey, we could never feel that way. We care about you too much. You're like a big brother to me," replied Mokuba as he released Joey from his embrace.

"Puppy, this apartment—this room—is just that. An apartment, a room. It doesn't say anything about who you are. It just shows how strong of an individual you have become because of it. You don't take anything for granted. You appreciate everything you have in life, no matter how little it is."

Joey tightened his arms around Seto, burying his face in the crook of his neck. "Thank you," came the muffled reply. "That really means a lot to me."

Seto pushed Joey away some before dipping his head and giving him a deep kiss.

"We love you, Puppy. Now, let's go home."

Home.

That was something Joey hadn't pictured himself having in a long time. And he really liked the sound of it, too.

Home.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	19. 3rd Tuesday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 19 – Tuesday**

"Joey? Would you please stop pacing? You're making me dizzy," grumbled an unhappy Seto. It was currently after school—and they were at home—waiting for Joey's mother and sister to arrive.

"Then don't watch me," the blond quipped in response, continuing his rapid routine of fluttering back and forth in front of Seto like some drunken butterfly.

The brunet sighed, his patience wearing thin. "You're not doing anyone any favors by stressing yourself out. You don't even have a reason to _be _stressed yet."

"No reason to be stressed? _No reason to be_ _stressed_? I haven't seen my mother since the day Serenity had her operation! I haven't seen Serenity since after Battle City! I tried to stay in contact, but my mother refused to let me! She wouldn't…she wants nothing to do with me," Joey said in defeat.

Noticing that the blond had finally stopped pacing, Seto took the opportunity to pull his Puppy into his arms in a means to calm him. "Why would you think that?"

"The only reason she was happy to see me that day at the hospital was because I'd gotten the money to pay for Serenity's operation. Even doing that was difficult. I had to contact her through her place of work just to let her know that I'd gotten the money," Joey explained. "As far as she's concerned, I've served my purpose."

"If you think she wants nothing to do with you, why is she coming here?"

"Serenity. She would do just about anything for her. Well, there's that and if, at any time, Serenity wants to meet with me, she can, and my mother can't do anything about it."

"What do you mean?"

"My mother tried to place a restraining order on me and my father. But she only succeeded partly. The court said that my father and I had no right to seek Serenity out, but if she wanted to, she could. But it would be her choice and her choice alone."

Now Seto was just a bit confused. "Then why hasn't Serenity tried to keep in touch with you more often?"

Joey just gave him a pained smile. "Do you really think my mother would ever tell her that she could see me any time she wished? Get real."

Seto was about to respond but was soon interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

"They're here," gasped Joey, gripping Seto's shirt tightly.

"I'll get it!" Mokuba called as he raced toward the door. He opened it excitedly. He was anxious to see Serenity again. "Hi!"

"Hey, Mokuba!" Serenity said cheerfully. "It's great to see you!"

"Um…where's your mom?" asked Mokuba when he noticed that she was all alone.

Serenity's cheerful demeanor started to wane. "She refused to come. I'm here by myself."

"Oh," said Mokuba, quite saddened by the fact that Joey's mother didn't even want to see him. "How long are you staying for?"

"I need to talk to Joey about that first. I kind of made Mom angry and she doesn't want anything to do with me anymore. Where's Joey?"

"He's inside. Where are your bags?"

"I don't have anything. Mom wouldn't let me take anything with me, so it's just…me. Can we stop talking now? I really just want to see Joey."

"Okay. Sure. Follow me."

Mokuba was silent as he led Serenity to the living room, where it seemed Seto and Joey had been waiting impatiently. As soon as Serenity saw her brother, however, she bolted and threw herself into his arms, crying.

"Oh, Joey! It's so good to see you!" Serenity cried.

"It's good to see you, too," Joey managed to choke out. It felt good being with his sister again. "Where's Mom?"

Joey felt Serenity stiffen in his arms, and when she pulled away, looking down at the floor, he grew concerned.

"Where's Mom, Serenity?"

"She's not here. I came here by myself."

"And without luggage, I see," Seto commented.

Serenity nodded her head briefly before breaking out into tears again. "After we talked on the phone, I got in a fight with Mom. She didn't want to come and didn't want me to go. We argued for a bit, and when I mentioned that I'd found the documents saying that I had the right to see you whenever I wished, she went ballistic."

"Did she hurt you?"

"Not physically," Serenity cut in. "She just…I used everything I had just to get a ticket to come down here. Mom wouldn't let me take anything with me. She doesn't want me anymore, Joey. And she gave me this to give to you."

Serenity reached into her jacket and pulled out a few folded pieces of paper. They looked like legal documents of some kind. When Joey took them, she said, "Mom's giving up custody over me. Since you're eighteen now, she's giving custody to you."

"What?" Joey gasped, stunned by the news. "Not wanting me is one thing…but you? Why would she ever kick you out?"

"She always thought you'd be like Dad. And if I spent time with you, she thought I'd be like him, too. Since I chose to come see you, she…saw it as me throwing my life away. And I'm not even going to say some of the other things she said. But all you have to do is sign the papers and I get to stay _with_ you."

Seto was appalled by their mother's behavior. No one deserved to be treated that way. Joey and Serenity were two very precious people who had been agonizingly deprived of the love and affection they deserved.

He and Mokuba had lived a life deprived of the same care. The four of them didn't get to grow up with loving parents, a safe and secure home, and the happiness that came with it. They all deserved that. And maybe—just maybe—they could build that family together.

"Sign the papers, Joey," Seto stated firmly when the blond made no reaction to do so.

It was then that Serenity seemed to realize whose company she was actually in. "Kaiba! I didn't see you there! I'm really sorry for making a scene!"

"You didn't make a scene," Seto assured her. "You'll live here with Mokuba, Joey, and me. And from now on, you can call me Seto."

Now it was Serenity's turn to be confused. "Huh?"

Seto's eyes narrowed at Joey. "You didn't tell her?"

"Didn't tell me what? Joey, what's going on? You're living here? Wait, is that why you said to come here in the first place?"

"I'm sorry, Serenity. I wanted to tell you everything over the phone, but I was just too anxious about what Mom would say."

"Then tell me now."

"A little more than two weeks ago, Seto and I were paired off for a school project. I had to stay here and…he found out that Dad had been hurting me, so he asked me to stay. He took care of me and we already kind of liked each other. One thing led to another and we're dating now," Joey explained quickly.

When Serenity didn't react, he felt his heart sink. Was his sister disgusted by his sexual preference?

But when Serenity threw her arms around him and squealed for joy, the blond nearly had a heart attack. "Oh! I'm so happy for the two of you! You look so adorable together!"

Then Seto found himself with an armful of Serenity. "Thank you for taking care of my brother! Thank you for letting him stay here! And do you mean it? Do I really get to live with you guys?"

"Of course. I wouldn't want my Puppy all sad because his sister couldn't stay. There's a room already prepared for you. It's right next door to Mokuba's. Mine and Joey's is right across the hall from his. Let Mokuba show you around and then we'll have dinner, all right?"

"Okay," replied Serenity, giving everyone a final hug before she ran off with Mokuba.

"Thank you, Seto. Thank you so much. I don't know what I'd do without you," stammered Joey, who was on the verge of tears. "You don't know how much this means to me."

"Joey, when will you understand that I love you and Mokuba more than anything? And I'm pretty sure that I'll soon love Serenity as if she were my own little sister. You mean the world to me. This has probably been the only time when I've actually felt like I had a real family."

"Me too," Joey chuckled, his tears subsiding. "But I still don't understand why Mom would give her up…and to me of all people."

"Don't start blaming yourself for what's happened," started Seto. "It's not your fault and it's not Serenity's fault. You two shouldn't blame yourselves for the parents you had the misfortune of having. The past is now the past. And I hope you plan on having me and Mokuba in your future, because I know for a fact that I plan to be in yours."

Joey threw his arms around Seto's neck, kissing him passionately for a minute or two before breaking away for air.

"I love you, Seto. Thank you so much for your support."

"You're welcome," Seto replied, smiling. "Since the service is tomorrow, we won't be going to school. It will give us time to enroll Serenity—how old is she anyway?"

"She's twelve."

"Great. Since Mokuba's skipped two grades they can be partners in crime together in the same school. We'll enroll her and she can start school with Mokuba next week. That will give her time to settle in."

"But we still have school. I don't want her here alone while we're gone," complained Joey.

"Then we'll let her shadow Mokuba at school the next few days. How does that sound?"

"Okay. But we also need to do some shopping for her. Serenity basically came here the same way I did, minus the injuries."

"Yes," Seto replied thoughtfully. "And we'll take care of that, too. But I am _not _taking her shopping. I've heard too many horror stories about women and shopping."

Joey couldn't help but laugh at that. "Then I'll call Tea and the two of them can go shopping together. I'm sure they'll have fun."

"Loads," Seto responded ruefully. "And Mokuba will probably want to tag along. I have a feeling our little siblings are going to become inseparable."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Joey asked mysteriously.

Seto raised an eyebrow at him. "Not if they're causing trouble."

"But if _they're _together a lot, it means _we _can be together a lot," Joey hinted, hoping Seto would catch his drift.

The brunet stifled a groan. "Please tell me your sister likes sleepovers just as much as Mokuba does?" he asked hurriedly.

"She does," replied Joey, sauntering away from him. "But you're not getting _any _until…oh, I'd say in about a week and a half."

A week and a half? What was happening in a week and a half? "Why that long?" Seto whined pathetically. It was a weird sound coming from him.

Joey rounded on him, waving his casted wrist at him. "Because _that's _when I get this stupid thing off. I am not going to let my first time be ruined by this stupid cast. I want everything to be perfect when I give myself to you," he answered heatedly.

Seto gulped at Joey's livid expression. His Puppy was very adamant about waiting until—

"First time?" Seto sputtered. "You've never—"

Joey clamped a hand over his mouth. "Will you keep it down?" he hissed. "Do you want the whole world to know?"

Seto shook his head.

"I've never been with anyone _that_ intimately before," said Joey, removing his hand from Seto's mouth. "I've been trying to save myself for someone special…someone I love. What about you?"

Seto's vibrant blush was all the answer he needed. Who knew that the King of Perverts would be so embarrassed? And _this _was the guy who created Strip Phonics?

"You're a virgin, aren't you?" Joey teased. "Just like me." The blond started trailing his hand up Seto's torso suggestively.

"I think I hear your sister calling," stammered the brunet, nearly running over Joey as he tried to get away.

The blond just stood back and laughed as he watched Seto make a break for it. Whether it was to actually find Mokuba and Serenity or take a cold shower, he didn't know. What he _did_ know was that things were looking up. And when he mulled over that thought again, he burst out laughing.

Something on Seto's person was probably looking up, too. And Joey'd be damned if he'd let this opportunity to tease him down.

He raced after the brunet, determined to find him, and tease him just a bit. Hey, Seto couldn't always be the one to have fun.

And come on! How often did someone get to make the CEO of Kaiba Corp. blush like a virgin? Joey wouldn't pass that up for anything!

Perhaps things would get better after all.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	20. 3rd Wednesday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 20 – Wednesday**

"Of all the days to rain," Joey muttered as he stared out the bedroom window. The sky was creepy, the rain was heavy, and there didn't seem to be any sign of it lightening up.

"Puppy, we need to be ready in a few hours. Rain or shine," Seto added as an afterthought. "One of the maid's daughters is about Serenity's age and size, so she lent her a black dress for the service. All of your friends have decided to forgo school today to go to the service, too."

"Really?"

"They care about you. Why else would they go?" responded Seto.

Joey continued to stare out the window. "I still can't believe he's gone. And I still can't believe Serenity gets to stay here with us."

Seto came up behind him, embracing him gently. He loved holding his Puppy like this. "See? Things are getting better. You just need to give it time."

"You're right. The past is only the past. It's time for me to move on," Joey said, reflecting on what Seto had told him not too long ago. "Even after all that's happened, I'm kind of glad that it did. Because if it hadn't, we might not even be together."

"Stop having gloomy thoughts," Seto replied, kissing Joey's cheek. "After today's said and done, we only have tomorrow to look forward to. And tomorrow will be the first day of our new life together…as a family."

Joey smiled. He really liked the sound of that.

* * *

They arrived at Domino Cemetery a few hours later. The rain hadn't relented, but the big, black umbrellas they held did their best in keeping them dry.

"Thanks for coming, you guys," Joey said, looking at all of his friends. Yugi, Yami, Tea, Tristan, Duke, Ryou, Bakura, Malik, and Marik were all there to pay their respects, although Joey believed there was no need for them to.

"You're welcome, Joey," replied Yugi. "I'm really sorry for your loss."

"I'm not," the blond stated ruefully. "He deserved what he got."

Noticing the stunned expressions on everyone's faces, Serenity decided to step in to lighten the dour mood some. "Hey, Tea? Can I ask you a favor?" she asked.

Tea beamed. "Sure. What is it?"

Serenity hesitated a moment before answering. "Um…I'm kind of living with Joey now, but I don't…have anything. Would it be okay if you took me shopping for new things?"

"I'd love to," Tea answered cheerfully. She noted the hesitancy in Serenity's voice, but decided not to question what had happened. "Is Friday good for you?"

"Let me ask," Serenity replied before scampering off to her brother and Seto. "Can I go shopping with Tea on Friday big brothers?"

Wait…big brothers? Seto a quite taken by surprise by this. "That would be Joey's decision."

"Yes, you can go shopping with Tea on Friday," said the blond.

"Just let me know when you're leaving so I can give you some money, all right?" continued Seto.

"All right! Thank you big brothers!" she responded delightfully before she raced over to Tea again.

"So, are you ready to do this, Puppy?"

"I guess so. It's now or never."

When Seto gave the signal that they'd be proceeding with the service, everyone followed him to where Gozaburo Kaiba and Justin Wheeler had already been buried. Their graves rested side by side.

The tombstones themselves were quite simple. They just provided the full names, birth and death dates of the deceased, nothing more.

A small table sat near the graves, bunches of fresh lavender resting on its surface. Seto had chosen this herb purposely. Lavender symbolized a number of things. Not only did its color represent serenity, but the plant also meant distrust. And oftentimes it was used for meditation, peace, and forgiveness. All of these meanings seemed appropriate for an occasion such as this, especially for Gozaburo and Justin.

"This service will be a bit different than anything else you may have attended," started Seto. "There is no priest, no sermon, and nothing stereotypical of a burial."

"Then what are we doing?" inquired Yugi.

"Everyone will take two sprigs of lavender," continued Joey, "and place one on each grave. But before you do, you'll hold the lavender in your hands and have a moment of silence for a time. You can reflect on anything you please. Imagine that whatever positive or negative energy you're feeling, you'll channel into the lavender. When you feel you're ready, place the lavender on the grave."

"You won't share your thoughts with anyone," added Seto. "Whether you wish them well in the afterlife, condemn them, or forgive them, it is your decision. Now is just a time to reflect and appreciate life—and death—as it is."

When everyone nodded in understanding, they proceeded with their brief ceremony. And when all was said and done, they all ventured home.

* * *

Joey stretched out on the bed, Seto lying down next to him. The weather had taken a turn for the worst. Wind roared through the trees, heavy rain pelted the windows, thunder roared, and lightning flashed without warning. Good thing it was nighttime and the service was completely over.

"Do you think the kids are all right?" Joey asked suddenly.

Seto raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't they be?"

"The storm," the blond stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

When Seto opened his mouth to speak, a loud clap of thunder cut him off, the power went out, and Mokuba and Serenity screamed.

"I see your point," the brunet mumbled as he fumbled around in the darkness trying to find his nightstand.

When he did—and he only found it because he stubbed his toe on the damn thing—he ripped open a drawer and felt around for his flashlight. Succeeding, he turned it on and faced Joey.

"Let's go get the kids," said the blond as he rose from the bed. But as soon as they got out into the hall, a very scared Serenity and Mokuba clamped onto them.

"Can we sleep with you guys tonight?" they asked frantically.

Joey chuckled silently. "Of course you can."

The two older brothers led their two younger siblings back to Seto's room. Pulling back the covers, Mokuba and Serenity plopped themselves in the center of the bed, with Seto and Joey on either side of them.

The two older teens pulled the covers over them, turned off the flashlight, and let their younger siblings snuggle against them. Mokuba clung to Seto like there was no tomorrow, and Serenity seemed to be doing the same to Joey.

"It's all right. Relax," the blond cooed, stroking Serenity's hair. "It's just a storm. Nothing's going to happen to you."

Seto watched this behavior thoughtfully before deciding to do the same to Mokuba. He found—much to his liking—that it worked. And soon, Mokuba and Serenity had fallen asleep between them.

"This was a very good idea," he brunet commented pleasantly, reaching for Joey's hand in the darkness. When he found it, they clasped their hands together and snuggled closer to their siblings in a protective manner.

"Goodnight, Seto," Joey said sleepily.

"Goodnight, Puppy," replied Seto, just as tired.

And soon, they were fast asleep…still holding each other's hand in an endearing manner. It was a pleasant way to end the day.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	21. 3rd Thursday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 21 – Thursday**

Joey sighed contentedly as he cuddled closer to the warm bodies next to him. Wait. _Bodies_? Hadn't he only been sleeping next to Serenity last night?

Eyes shooting open, the blond took in his surroundings, sighing in relief when he saw Mokuba and Serenity of either side of him. Now, when did that happen?

And where the fuck was Seto?

Grumbling to himself—but not so much that he would wake up the young ones—he carefully rose from the bed, stumbling around in the early morning light in search of the missing CEO. When he finally made it to the door, he quietly stepped out into the hall. All was quiet. And it still seemed like the power was still out.

Joey rubbed his arms together and trudged down the stairs. "Seto?" he called. "Where the fuck—AAH! Don't sneak up on me like that, you fucking bastard!"

The blond smacked Seto on the shoulder just for good measure. Smirking at his Puppy's obvious embarrassment, he ruffled the blond's hair some in apology.

"Sorry, Pup. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Where were you?" Joey asked, trying to change the subject. He didn't like the smirk he was receiving.

"I came down here to make a phone call. It seems the storm knocked out most of the power in Domino. School is cancelled until further notice, so it looks like we have the house to ourselves…with the little ones…and no power," he grumbled heatedly.

Joey pinched the bridge of his nose. "You don't have to make it sound like the end of the world. Do you have a backup generator or anything?"

"No."

"Kerosene?"

"No."

"Candles?"

"No."

"Do you have _anything_?" Joey snapped, peeved due to Seto's unpreparedness.

The brunet balked. "Um, we have a fireplace in the living room," he offered.

"Is there any wood to burn in the damn thing? Matches or lighters included?" Joey inquired coldly.

"Yes," Seto managed to…squeak out. He wasn't used to angry, domestic Joey.

"Okay," replied the blond, who seemed to be appeased for the time being. "Where is everything?"

"There's a door off to the side of the living room. If you open that, you'll see the wood that's been stacked there and everything else you might need should be in there as well," Seto rambled.

"Good. I'll get started on that and you can wake the kids up. Make sure they dress warmly. Serenity can borrow something of mine. Sweats should fit her. Then bring them down to the living room."

"What for?"

Ooh! Joey's death glare was back!

"If you hadn't noticed," the blond began as if he were speaking to a child, "the mansion is freezing. I'm going to start a fire in the fireplace so that everyone can warm up. I'll also be gathering what I can from the kitchen in order to make everyone a decent meal since the power is out. Got it?"

"Yep," Seto answered briefly, wanting to get out of Joey's way as soon as possible. "Love you." And with that, the brunet scampered off to wake the kids.

Joey chuckled amusedly by Seto's behavior. Messing with him like this was fun. He wanted to tease him as much as the brunet did. He had that right, didn't he? Smiling, the blond set off to the living room, where he hoped they would all be spending some quality time together.

* * *

Waking up two nearly comatose preteens had not been on Seto's to-do list. It was almost impossible to wake them up. But when he did, the brunet had really wanted to knock them back out with whatever he could get his hands on. Who knew those two could be so uncooperative?

Seto had just about had it with their complaining. Whining about wanting to sleep some more was _not _something he was accustomed to dealing with.

Now that he thought about it, he felt really sorry for the maid who woke Mokuba up every morning. He could literally feel her pain. Seto didn't know that waking up Mokuba included being swung at with a fist. He was worse than Joey.

Oh, no. Joey. Seto was actually surprised that the blond hadn't checked on them yet. And facing off against him when it came to parenting was not something he wanted to encounter just yet.

"Look," began the brunet, losing his patience, "just come on and we'll go downstairs to the living room. Joey's making a fire in the fireplace and he said he was going to cook—"

Two bodies whizzed past him. Mokuba and Serenity were out the door before you could say, 'Duel Monsters.'

Seto stood there, dumbfounded as he mulled over what he'd said. What _did _he say that would make them bolt downstairs like lightning?

Not being able to figure it out, Seto left the room and went downstairs and into the living room. When he got there, Mokuba and Serenity were sitting near Joey, eagerly watching what he was doing.

The brunet had to admit, his Puppy looked quite stunning in firelight. The blond's hair shimmered like gold and his skin just seemed to glow.

"Would you like to join us or are you just going to stand there like a statue all day?" Joey joked.

Startled out of his reverie, Seto strode toward the three of them and sat down before the fire. "What the hell are you making?"

Joey rolled his eyes at the brunet's blatant approach. "This," the blond said, handing a mug to Seto, "is hot chocolate. Since the power is out—and we don't know for how long—I took out most of the perishables that would go first, like the milk. Now drink it before it gets cold."

"But…I don't like hot chocolate," Seto muttered, staring at his mug that _should _have been holding coffee.

"Well, you do today. Besides, you might like mine," replied Joey, giving him a wink. When Seto didn't make any move to drink it, he said adorably, "If you love me, you'll take a sip."

"If you love me, you won't make me," Seto retaliated childishly, glaring at the hot chocolate. He wanted a caffeine high, not a sugar high.

"Seto," Joey sighed, exasperated. "Fine. Then just do whatever the hell you want."

The brunet's head shot up. His Puppy wasn't going to fight him on this? Why? Usually he could get him worked up over the smallest of things.

The brunet looked back down at the hot chocolate. Well…his Puppy _had _made it—had made it for _him_. He might as well try it. Lifting the mug to his lips, Seto took a small sip.

His insides melted.

"Where the fuck did you learn to make hot chocolate?" Seto rasped out.

Joey tried not to show the delight that crept onto his face, but failed miserably. "I taught myself. Why?"

"It's good," Seto said.

The adoring look of admiration was starting to creep the blond out a little bit. It was like Seto was going to jump him or something. Not that he wouldn't mind, but—

_He better not jump me in front of the kids! _Joey screamed inside his head, his happy expression turning to one of utter shock. _The food!_

"Seto, would you like something to eat? I made sandwiches and am heating up some soup near the fire as we speak," Joey said, hoping to avert whatever thoughts had crossed the brunet's mind.

There was food, too? If it was anything like his Puppy's hot chocolate, Seto thought he would fall in love with him even more. Just as long as he didn't make a fool of himself while eating. What he _really _wanted to do was for him and Joey to feed each other, but Mokuba and Serenity were there, so _that _was out of the picture.

"That sounds really good," Seto replied earnestly.

Joey then passed out some sandwiches he'd made. After he was finished, he moved onto serving them soup.

"This is really good, Joey," said Mokuba.

"Yep! It sure is!" added Serenity.

"You're a wonderful cook, Pup," supplemented Seto.

"This is hardly a three course meal. It's just soup and sandwiches," stated the blond, although inside, he was bubbling.

"I didn't know you could cook this well without modern conveniences. Perhaps you really _should_ do the cooking around here more often. At least, that is, if you want to," Seto finished hurriedly.

Joey seemed to think on that request for a moment before answering. "As long as the three of you eat what I cook, I agree. Just make me a list of things you don't like and I'll make sure to make compromises when I make meals."

Everyone nodded in agreement and sequestered themselves more comfortably on the floor, content in each other's company and the food.

* * *

"I am _so_ glad the power is back on!" Joey said tiredly as he collapsed on the couch.

"I'm glad those two monster are in bed now," commented Seto, collapsing right next to him. "We should eliminate all sugar from their diet."

Joey laughed lightly, swatting Seto's hand playfully. "Maybe. But you have to admit, we did have fun today."

"Yes. I suppose we did," reminisced the brunet. "However, we need to find a balance between family time and us time."

"What? You want certain days of the week where we're alone?" asked Joey as he snuggled up to Seto.

"Exactly. I don't want to share you all the time. All Fridays and Saturdays—all twenty-four hours—are our days."

"Hm…that means tomorrow will be _our _day." Joey turned so that his face was in the crook of Seto's neck. Kissing the exposed flesh gently, he said, "Mokuba will be in school tomorrow, Serenity will be shopping with Tea tomorrow, and we could also let them sleep over at Yugi's tomorrow."

"But when Mokuba's at school, Serenity will be here. When Serenity goes shopping with Tea, Mokuba will be here," Seto pointed out.

"Nope. I work fast. Serenity is going with Mokuba to school tomorrow to shadow him before she starts school Monday. After school, Mokuba will be accompanying Tea and Serenity when they go shopping, and afterward, they'll have a sleepover at Yugi's."

"But we still have school."

"No, we don't."

"And how did you manage to pull that off?"

"Gozaburo and my father died recently, so the school allowed us to take the rest of the week off," explained Joey.

"Oh. So what did you want to do?"

"We'll go to school."

"What? But you just said—"

"I know what I said," Joey giggled. "We won't be going to school to go to class. We'll be going to school so that I can take you to the Art Room and show you some of the current pieces I've been working on."

Seto pulled Joey into his lap, kissing him soundly on the mouth. "I really like that idea," he replied thoughtfully. "And what would you like to do after?"

"Well, we'll have the place to ourselves. I think we can get creative," Joey hinted.

"You mean—"

"We're not having sex until my cast is gone," the blond deadpanned, virtually extinguishing all hope in Seto's eyes. "But we can have an extremely hot make-out session."

"How about we start now?" the brunet growled as he suddenly pinned Joey to the couch and eyed him hungrily.

But before they could make a move, a loud crash from upstairs made them shoot upright.

"Sorry!" Mokuba and Serenity called from above.

"That's it!" Joey snapped, leaping from the couch and storming upstairs. "When it's summer, we're sending their asses to Summer Camp. A very _long _Summer Camp."

Wow. And Seto thought _he _was the sexually frustrated one. It appeared his Puppy wanted it as much as him…even if he made it seem like he didn't.

"Get your scrawny butts in bed right now! You're both going to school tomorrow!" roared Joey from above. A few moments later, the blond's voice returned. "Don't you 'but Joey' me! Bed! Now!"

Another few moments later, Joey came down the stairs looking fearsome.

"Is everything okay? Do you want me to deal with them?" Seto offered.

"No, I got it. I told them that if they didn't go to bed that you'd be doing the cooking for the next week. They shut up and went to sleep in a matter of seconds after that."

Seto was now fuming. "Are you insulting my cooking ability?"

"Hey, I can't insult what I haven't tried…and there's a lot of you I haven't tried yet," Joey hinted suggestively as he sauntered back toward the living room.

Seto made to grab him, but the blond evaded his reach. "Come back here."

"You have to catch me first!" Joey laughed as he ran away, Seto hot on his tail.

A loud thump sounded in the living room accompanied by the sound of laughter—from two people. Everything was going well after all.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	22. 4th Friday

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 22 – Friday**

"Wakey, wakey," said Joey as he tickled Seto's nose. "Time to get up, sleepyhead."

The brunet subconsciously swatted his hand away. "No," he grumbled before turning onto his stomach and burying his face in the pillow.

"Aw, does Seto-weto wanna sleep?"

"Yes," came the muffled reply.

"But if Seto-weto's asleep, then Puppy will be all alone," Joey commented in a sing-song voice.

"So."

"And that means if Seto-weto doesn't get up this fucking instant, he's going to be deprived of a very intimate moment with Puppy later on," Joey growled in a more demanding voice.

That had been the right thing to say, because Seto bolted upright. He was awake now. "Today's our day!" he exclaimed, looking particularly disheveled in the process.

"I know. Why do you think I've been trying to get your sorry ass up for the past half hour? The kids already left."

"Sorry, Pup," the brunet replied, leaning over to give Joey a good morning kiss. "Wait…did you just call me Seto-weto?"

"Mm…maybe."

"You are _not _calling me that," Seto deadpanned, his expression grim.

"Why not? You call me Puppy? Why can't I give you a pet name?"

"Seto-weto is not a pet name. _Puppy_ is a pet name. Even _Honey_ is a pet name. But _not_ Seto-weto," he ground out.

"Oh. So is asshole a better choice?" Joey taunted, eyebrow raised.

"Puppy," the brunet warned.

"Fine. Then I'll just call you what I've always called you in my head."

"And what would that be?" Seto dearly hoped that it was a bit better than Seto-weto. If Joey ever called him that in public, he'd never live it down. The potential blackmail in that single name scared him.

"I'll only tell you," began Joey as he hopped off the bed, "if you let me call you by it."

Seto was definitely curious now. "So you'll only tell me what it is if I agree to you calling me by it? Before I even know what it is?"

Joey nodded.

"Then…no."

The blond hadn't expected Seto to just give up. He thought the brunet was more inquisitive than that.

"Then I'll just call you Seto-weto until you agree," Joey stated before he headed for the bathroom. When the door shut and made that undeniable clicking sound—meaning the door was now locked—Seto rose from the bed and stepped up to the door.

Knocking lightly, he said, "Puppy? What are you doing? Come out. I'm sorry. Please don't call me Seto-weto." He felt ridiculous saying these things, but sometimes…ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

If that hadn't been bad enough, Seto turned multiple shades of red when he heard the toilet flush. So his Puppy hadn't run away from him…he was just…using the bathroom. It almost made the brunet want to bash his head against a wall for his foolishness.

Suddenly, the door opened and Joey stepped out, his face hinting amusement. "Does this mean I get to call you my pet name?"

Seto plopped himself on the bed. He gave up. Joey would never relent. And honestly, what could be worse than Seto-weto? "Sure."

"Yes!" Joey exclaimed, pouncing on him. "Puppy loves his Dragon!"

Wait…Dragon?

"You're calling me Dragon?" Seto inquired. He had to admit, he was mightily impressed by receiving such a powerful pet name from the blond.

Joey smirked. He knew a name like Dragon would boost the brunet's ego some. But he had to admit, he loved the thought of calling him that. "I'm calling you Dragon," he confirmed, sneaking a kiss. "Now let's get dressed and go to school. I want to show you my work."

And with that, he scampered off his Dragon to get ready.

* * *

"How the hell did you manage to get keys to the art room?" Seto questioned.

"I'm the best student in the school when it comes to art. I was given my own set of keys so that I could come in here whenever I pleased. I even have my own cabinet I keep locked that holds my work," explained Joey.

"I haven't really asked before, but what sort of work do you do?"

"I paint mostly. But I enjoy drawing sketches as well; charcoal, pencils…sometimes even watercolors."

"What are you working on right now?" Seto asked curiously as they stepped into the vacant art room.

Joey led them to a fairly large cabinet and started messing with the lock. "Actually, I've finished all of my projects for the year. I didn't want to do anymore at the time because I didn't know what I was going to do with them. Had I still been with my father, I probably would have sold them so that I could have gotten a place of my own."

The blond paused and then looked at Seto pleadingly. "Would it be all right if I brought all of my stuff home—er, to the mansion."

Seto noted his Puppy's correction in puzzlement. "You don't have to call it 'the mansion.' It's your home now, too, so call it that."

"Okay. Can I take my stuff home today?"

"Sure. Although, I am quite interested in seeing some of your work now," Seto replied, intrigued.

Joey smiled and opened the cabinet. "Most of my things are in boxes. The sketches are mostly 8 x 10 and in their own portfolios. I have some small portraits and one large one that I finished recently, but those are packed away already. You won't be able to see those until we get home."

Seto absently reached for a portfolio tucked away in a box. When he looked at the cover, however, he was a bit surprised to see his name written on it. "Puppy? What's this?"

Joey looked to see what Seto was holding. After he realized what it was, he paled considerably. "Give me that!" he exclaimed, reaching for the portfolio.

Seto held it out of his reach. "Why? What's in it? Did you draw pictures of you beating me up or something?" he teased.

"No!" cried Joey, jumping to get his portfolio from Seto. "Just give them to me!"

"Why? My name is on the portfolio, so why can't I see them? Give me one good reason why I should give them to you."

"Because…" Joey started, looking quite lost. To be honest, he couldn't think of an answer that Seto would accept. And if he didn't give him a good reason then the brunet was going to look at the sketches. And _then_ what would Seto think of him?

"No answer? Well then, I guess I'll just take a look," he said, watching Joey's reaction carefully. His Puppy almost looked upset as well as embarrassed. Why was that?

Opening the portfolio, what Seto saw literally took his breath away. Joey had sketched _them_, but not in the way one would think. These sketches were a little more…risqué. And as he went from sketch to sketch, Seto found himself becoming more and more aroused by the images.

"I'm sorry, Seto. I really am. I didn't mean for you to ever come across these. It was just when I started having feelings for you. I didn't know how else to express myself and I didn't have anyone to talk to about it," Joey explained timidly. "Are you mad?"

"Puppy, why would I be mad? I have to admit, I actually like these. They look so realistic and…I wouldn't mind trying out a few of these positions you've drawn."

Joey went from deathly pale to volcano red in a matter of seconds. "_What_?" he stammered.

Seto closed the portfolio and placed it back in the box. "What do you say? We can give sketch number five a try when we get home."

"You…pervert!" the blond yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him. He'd finally gathered his wits about him.

"You're the one who drew the sketches, Puppy. If anyone's the pervert, it's you," Seto chuckled.

"I wasn't ever going to _act _on them! I just _drew_ them!" Joey argued.

"Well, I'm going to change all that," Seto said, yanking the blond against him. Joey eeped and tried to squirm away. "Maybe we can even make our own sex book."

"You're impossible!" Joey still tried to get out of Seto's grasp. He was nowhere ready to do _any _of the things he'd drawn. "I don't want to do any of those things! It was just stuff I imagined! I don't even know _how_ to do any of it!"

"We'll learn…in time. Puppy, we'll only do things when we're ready to do them. Understand? I would never force you to do anything you didn't want to do."

Joey stopped struggling and looked up at Seto. "You promise?"

"I promise."

"I'm not ready to actually have sex yet. We can…make-out, but no sex," Joey emphasized.

"All right. But when we _do _get to that point, it will be special. Making love always should be."

Joey sighed contentedly against him. "Thank you, Seto."

"No. Thank you."

* * *

They arrived back at the mansion nearly an hour later. And after bringing all of Joey's boxes artwork, the blond began unpacking some of the larger items to show Seto.

"What are these small ones?" Seto asked while he watched Joey unwrap the small portraits from their packaging.

"I painted a lot of portraits of my friends. I planned on giving these to them as graduation gifts. Whoever was in a couple—like Yugi and Yami, Ryou and Bakura, and Malik and Marik—I painted them together. You can have a look if you want, but be careful."

Seto took each portrait delicately, admiring the technique and accuracy of all the details. "These are amazing. What about the large one?" he asked, setting aside the smaller portraits in a safe place.

Joey paused a moment before unwrapping that one, too. When he finished, he beckoned Seto to come have a look.

As Seto approached the painting, his eyes nearly filled with tears at the intimacy of the painting. One of his Blue-Eyes White Dragons was curled up with Joey's Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Small dragon kits—having a mixture of both their parents—stood about them. The painting said it all. They were meant to be.

"Oh, Puppy," Seto sighed lovingly. "It's beautiful. Do you mind if we hang it in our room?"

"Our room?" Joey asked, surprised.

"Yes," Seto replied shortly. "You made no indication that you wanted your own room. You've been staying in mine the past few weeks. And even if you wanted your own room now, I'd say no. So yes, do you mind if we hang this up in _our _room?"

"Okay," Joey answered finally.

Seto then walked over to the wall across from the bed and took down a picture that had been randomly placed there when the room had been decorated. Taking his Puppy's portrait in hand, he hung it on the wall, stepped back and admired the blond's work.

"I really love you, Puppy. I hope you know that," Seto said as he hugged Joey, pulling him close.

"I love you, too, Dragon," he replied tenderly, looking up at the brunet. His eyes seemed to indicate something, and Seto caught on quickly as to what his Puppy wanted.

Seto brought his hands to Joey's shirt, trailing them across his chest as he gradually unbuttoned the silk fabric. The blond did the same to him in return. And when they stepped back to gaze at each other, the blond said, "Remember, we're not going to have sex, but I…I really want to see you, Seto."

"I want to see you, too. And I promise. No sex. Undress for me?"

Joey nodded. "You, too."

After they discarded all of their clothes, they admired each other for a few minutes before Joey walked up to Seto again.

The brunet purred in bliss when he felt the blond join his hot mouth with his left nipple, teasing it with his lapping tongue. When it was stiff enough, Joey moved onto the neglected one.

Seto moaned loudly when he felt the blond press against his quickly hardening member. He was also rendered immobile when Joey promptly fell to his knees in front of his straining erection. This wasn't something he had expected, but it wasn't like he was going to deny him.

Grabbing the base of Seto's member in his hand, Joey stroked him gently, receiving a strangled groan from his Dragon. After a few moments, the blond stared at Seto's lengthy cock. It was dripping with cum. Growing bold, he nipped at the tip softly before swallowing him whole.

"Fuck!" Seto jerked his hips when he felt his Puppy swallow him. Groaning and panting, the brunet tossed his head back while Joey bobbed his head up…and down…up…and down. His mouth pleasured the brunet's erection while his hands—one casted and one not—traveled to his hips, keeping him in place.

As Joey continued to suck, he lightly scraped his teeth along the sensitive flesh there. That was all his Dragon needed to release. Roaring out in completion, Seto panted heavily as he watched Joey rise with glazed eyes.

"I…didn't expect…you to go…that far," Seto gasped. "Do you want—"

"No. I don't want you to do that, too. At least…not yet. You can pleasure me how you see fit, but I don't want it to go too far because I want to give myself to you completely when this cast is off. I know it sounds stupid, but do you get what I mean?"

Seto inched closer to Joey, brushing his lips against the skin between the blond's neck and shoulder. "I get it. Don't worry. I can pleasure you just as well without giving you a hot blowjob," he smirked.

"Oh, yeah? Well, we'll see about that."

"We definitely will," the brunet growled.

Joey threw his head back when Seto's hand splayed across his taut stomach. The brunet's hands trailed up to his nipples, pinching them wonderfully. His Puppy squirmed against him, but the blond could not hide the quiver that ran down his spine. Seto smirked when he noticed.

As if sensing his Puppy's anticipation, the brunet moved him to the bed, pressing his back onto the soft comforter as he started teasing him, caressing him, and kissing him.

When Seto's molten touches finally moved lower, Joey gasped in relief. His Dragon's fingers danced around the blond's smooth thighs, close…but nowhere near close enough to where he _truly _wanted them to be—where he _immediately_ wanted them to be.

A few more agonizing moments later, Seto caringly pushed Joey's legs apart, stroking the insides of his milky thighs delicately.

"Touch me," the blond moaned, urging his Dragon's hands toward his weeping erection. "Please."

Seto smirked again. "As you wish, Puppy." The brunet instantly wrapped his hand around Joey's straining erection, pumping it fast…then slow…fast…then slow.

"Ah, Seto. I'm—" Joey whimpered when he couldn't hold on any longer, giving a sharp cry of his lover's name as he released.

Seto curled up against his Puppy contentedly. If doing this felt great, making love was going to be in a completely different league altogether.

"That was great," Joey mumbled sleepily.

"You're tired after that round?" Seto teased. "So when we actually make love, will that put you in a coma?"

"Shut the fuck up and cuddle," Joey grumbled. "When I get this fucking cast off, we'll see who gets put into a coma."

The brunet chuckled amusedly. "Point taken. And just to let you know, I can't wait to finally make love to you. I want to completely give myself to you, as you will to me."

"I can't wait for that either," the blond replied as he curled up next to the brunet, his eyes lingering to the painting. "I love you, Seto."

"I love you, too, Joey. And it's a good thing tomorrow's Saturday."

"And why is that?" he inquired, confused.

"It's _our_ day," Seto hinted. "But since today is still our day, too, there a few things I'd still like to do. Or rather…a few places on a certain Puppy I'd still like to do."

"Seto!" Joey screeched when his Dragon pounced on him. "You sex fiend!"

"Hey, you're the one who said no sex. You didn't say _anything _about touching…or licking…or sucking…or—"

"—biting," Joey finished, flipping their positions so that he was on top.

Perhaps if they got everything out of their systems now, they'd have a normal date in the future. But seriously, this _is _Seto and Joey we're talking about. When is there ever anything normal about them?

* * *

**End**

**Check out the Sequel: A Business Plan**


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